Daughter of Darkness Oneshots
by actress4him
Summary: This is a series of oneshots to go along with my series, Daughter of Darkness (aka Sorrow's Promise and Inferno's Edge). In-between moments, scenes told from other character's perspectives, and more! Accepting requests!
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome! Some things you should know before we begin -**

**1\. In case you missed it in the description, this series of oneshots goes along with my full-length fic, "Sorrow's Promise". You will definitely encounter spoilers here if you haven't read that yet. If you've started reading but haven't finished, then feel free to start the oneshots and just watch out for chapter numbers. I'll indicate where the oneshot falls in the story, and to start with at least I'll be posting in chronological order. I'll only stray from that if I get a new idea or a request that's out of order.**

**2\. I'll probably be posting these every Wednesday. There's only 10 of them as of now, but that should hold us over for a little while, right? Maybe by then I'll be at least * almost * finished with the first draft of Inferno's Edge. We can hope.**

**3\. There are various reasons why these scenes didn't make it into the actual story, which I will explain at the top of each chapter. Mostly these were written just for fun, to entertain myself, and I hope that they'll entertain you guys, as well.**

**4\. I've rated this fic T, mainly just because that's what Sorrow's Promise was rated, but only a couple of chapters in it will actually reach the T level for violence. The rest are probably more K. Only one chapter will have the same trigger warning as the main fic, which I will indicate when we get there.**

** Alright, I think that's it! Enjoy!**

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_This was a scene that I came up with really early in the writing process, and originally planned on including. It turned out, though, that I already had plenty of "having fun" scenes in the mansion, ones that furthered the plot a little better, and just didn't really have room for this one. I did like how it gave Meli and Riku a little more common ground, though._

Chapter 15.5

(Falls between chapter 15 and 16 of Sorrow's Promise)

Meli's Perspective

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Finishing the last of the ten laps that Riku had assigned me, I slowed to a stop and bent over with my hands on my knees. When my heart rate had slowed almost back to normal, I straightened, wiping the back of my hand across my forehead with a huff of air. Time to go inside and cool off a little before we had to head out on the day's assignment.

As I pushed open the back door of the mansion, an unusual sound drifted down the hallway to meet me. Was that...singing? My face wrinkled in surprise as I started slowly towards the source. There was no mistaking it now, it was definitely singing, and definitely a male voice. Which meant it had to be Riku, as hard as it was for me to believe that. I had almost reached our bedroom doors now, and could finally make out the lyrics to the song.

_And oh, the towering feelings_

_ Just to know somehow you are near._

_ The overpowering feeling_

_ That any second you may suddenly appear._

He was good. Like, really good. His tenor voice was light, yet strong, and raised goosebumps all over my arms. Of course he could sing. Seemed like he could do everything else, so why not sing, too? But...My Fair Lady? Really? With all of the movies that he hadn't seen, I never would have expected My Fair Lady to be the one that he actually had.

_People stop and stare,_

_ They don't bother me..._

I hummed along a bit, then found myself joining in quietly from just outside his bedroom.

_For there's nowhere else on earth_

_ That I would rather be._

_ Let the time go by..._

Riku's song stopped abruptly, and I clamped my mouth shut to cut off the note he had left me on. A few seconds passed, in which I considered retreating into my own room, but just before I made the decision to do so, his door eased open.

"You're standing out there listening, aren't you?"

I puckered my lips guiltily. "Well, not just listening...you kinda left me hanging there."

Riku's mouth quirked to the side slightly. I figured that that would be the end of it, that he'd be too embarrassed to ever let me catch him singing again. To my surprise, though, he opened the door a bit wider, leaned his shoulder against the door frame, and began again. "Let the time go by..."

I smiled broadly and joined him for the last few lines, my mediocre mezzo voice blending smoothly with his.

_I won't care if I_

_ Can be here _

_ On the street where you live!_

We stared at one another in silence for a moment when the song was over, not sure what to say. "So...musicals, huh?" I finally remarked, my amusement clearly showing.

Riku gave a vocal sigh, smirking. "Yeah. My mom...she's a big fan. Used to drag me to the theatre whenever there was a new performance. I don't know that you could call me a fan, necessarily, but...they're not too bad."

"Well, at least we finally have something that we both know!" I laughed. "Though I've only seen some of the ones that were made into movies."

"I can't say I know which ones those are."

I crossed my arms, thinking. "Hmm. How about..."

_Say you'll share with me_

_ One love, one lifetime._

_ Say the word and I will follow you._

A smile spread over Riku's face, and he began to sing, too.

_Share each day with me_

_ Each night, each morning..._

I froze suddenly as I realized that the next line of the song was supposed to be me asking him to say that he loved me. I coughed. "Um...that's all I remember." Wow, how had it not occurred to me sooner how awkward it was for us to stand here and sing love songs to each other? There were so many other songs I could have picked.

"That's okay," Riku responded. "Phantom of the Opera...I think that was one of my favorites, actually."

"It's a good one," I agreed. "I, um...guess I'll go get ready now." I gestured towards my door, still feeling uncomfortable and ready to exit as quickly as possible.

"Okay." Riku didn't move from his spot as I backed away and began to turn the knob. "Hey, uh...thanks for not making fun of me."

"Of course not. You've got a great voice, and hey, I think everyone should be allowed to be a little geeky about something. Or, a lot geeky about a lot of things, in my case."

Riku chuckled. "Okay, well, I expect plenty of musical references from now on."

"Oh, don't worry!" I grinned, backing into my room and starting to sing again.

_You've got it coming_

_ You've got it coming_

_ You'll only have yourself to blame..._

Riku's laughter rang out into the hallway as I shut the door and fell up against it, unable to wipe off the smile that had etched itself onto my face.

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**Disclaimer: I don't own My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Opera, or Chicago. (Obviously.)**

** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you, **Enamis09 **and **FadedPhantom **for your reviews!

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**TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER – **

_Domestic violence_

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_This is one of my favorites of the oneshots I've written so far. Maybe it's just because I'm a sucker for whump, but I think it's mainly because it's fun to finally actually see things from Riku's point of view. That's the reason I decided to write this one – just to explore his side of the experience. I discovered that it's a bit challenging writing from the perspective of someone who can't see!_

Chapter 19/20 Remix

(Runs parallel to chapters 19 and 20)

Riku's Perspective

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"Let's not get food from this place again, wherever it was."

I nodded, stirring the contents of my takeout box without enthusiasm. "Yeah, it's...not the greatest. That's what I get for trying somewhere new."

Meli laughed. "If I had any more of my money, I'd portal back home and get us something from there on occasion."

I smirked, thinking of the bag full of tacos she had brought us last time and the tickle war that had ensued. "If I had a working kitchen, I'd just make us dinner."

"Wait, you can cook?" She sounded surprised, and impressed.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah. I'm not a gourmet chef or anything, but I can make a pretty decent meal."

"I can make a killer pb and j. Oh, and boxed mac and cheese is my specialty." I couldn't help but laugh, and Meli joined in. "I never really had anybody to teach me anything about cooking growing up," she continued. "Ms. Young wouldn't even let us anywhere near her kitchen."

If I remembered correctly, Ms. Young was the leader of her foster home, someone whom Meli had not been overly fond of. "I pretty much taught myself just by experimenting." I hesitated, my mind wandering back to those lonely nights at home. "It was either that, or don't eat some nights."

"Really?"

I could hear the concern in her voice, and berated myself inwardly for bringing it up. "Eh, you know. Mom wasn't around much, working all the time. Most nights it was just me for dinner, unless I was at Sora or Kairi's."

"What about your dad?" Meli pressed.

Clenching my teeth slightly, I tried to think of a way to avoid the question. At the same time, though, a little voice in my head was chiding me for not wanting to open up. She was showing interest in my life, shouldn't I be happy about that? "Left when I was just a kid," I finally answered.

"I'm sorry," she responded quietly.

I offered a small smile. "Don't be. We certainly weren't." It had been one of the best things that could have happened to Mom and me, despite it leaving her as a single working mother. Meli didn't answer, and I realized that I must have made her uncomfortable. Guess there was such a thing as opening up a little too much. "So, what's your hidden talent, then? Besides Keyblade wielding and magic, of course."

"Oh, um...I'm a pretty good hairstylist." Meli's tone had lightened up considerably. "I mean, if I do say so myself." I felt a rush of air come towards me, but was still taken completely off guard when her small, warm hand touched my forehead and pushed my hair back off of my face. "I could cut yours if you wanted," she offered. "It's getting pretty long, you know!"

My heart had suddenly started skipping beats, but I found my voice again and laughed. "Yeah, I know. Maybe someday, when all of this is over with."

Meli removed her hand, and my hair fell back in place. My skin felt strangely tingly in the absence of her touch. "Why, because you like it this way, or because you don't trust my hair cutting skills?" she asked. "I cut my own hair, and it looks pretty good, in my opinion."

I tried to remember what her hair had looked like when I had seen it for that one, brief moment. The color was the main thing that had stuck out to me, though I did recall it being pretty short. I opened my mouth to answer her, but sensed movement again and paused to try to determine what she was doing. There was a faint sound of skin stroking skin, like she might be rubbing her hands together, and she muttered something that included the word "Aiden".

Immediately I was on the alert. "What was that about Aiden?" I had not liked that guy from the very first time she had mentioned him.

"Nothing," Meli replied quickly. "He just...liked my hair longer, that's all."

"But why did you start messing with your hand when you said that?" There was no way that was coincidental.

"How did you...?" I felt her quickly change positions. "It's nothing. There's no reason."

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" I peeled off my right glove and threw it down onto the bed, then reached across and felt for her hand. Meli's left arm was still in front of her, so I grabbed the right arm that she was attempting to hide behind her back and pulled the hand towards me. She struggled against me, but I gripped her wrist tightly and ran my finger over the raised spot on her palm. "That's a scar, isn't it?" I could feel my anger growing by the second. "What did he do to you?"

"He didn't do anything. I just burned myself, that's all." Meli yanked back once again, but I still didn't let go. That was definitely another lie.

"You mean he burned you." Who was this guy, that he thought he could treat another human being like this? "What was it, a cigarette?"

Meli growled in frustration, but finally blurted out the truth. "It was a lighter, okay? He burned my hand with a lighter because I cut my hair off."

I released my hold on her hand, stunned. Somehow that seemed even worse to me than the thought of the cigarette had. I found myself imagining this overgrown bully holding a squirming, pleading Meli's hand over a lighter, and my stomach twisted into a knot.

"It was my fault, though," Meli mumbled. "I cut it without asking him about it. I should have just asked."

That was more than I could take. I groaned, throwing my hands up in the air. "No, Meli, that is not your fault! It's your hair, on your body. You should be able to do what you want with it without asking anybody, and without being afraid of being punished for it. You can't blame yourself for everything that your good-for-nothing boyfriend does to you!"

"Don't you talk about him like that," she warned through her teeth.

"I'm sorry, but somebody's gotta say it. The guy's a loser, Meli. Why do you stay with him when he keeps hurting you?"

"You don't know anything!" Meli shifted suddenly, leaving the bed and moving away.

I swung my legs around so that I could stand, too. "I know that it's not right. Surely you know it, too. You're a smart girl. I don't understand why you can't see it."

"Why do you care so much, anyway?"

"Because..." I could tell that I had made her quite angry, which had not been my intention. But I just couldn't stand to see her being treated like this. She deserved so much better. The only way that she could possibly think that this was okay was if she just didn't know anything better, which made my heart ache. This is not what love is supposed to look like, I wanted to say. You need someone to show you what love really means. Instead, I swallowed and tried to speak in a kinder tone than before. "Because you're my friend. I just want what's best for you."

There was complete silence for a long moment, other than the sound of her heavy breathing. When she did speak again, her voice was terse, and I could tell that she was facing away from me. "I think you should go now."

Drawing in a regretful breath, I reached over to grab my food off of the bed. "Yeah. I'll do that."

I left the room quietly, retreating back to my own bedroom and flopping down into the armchair with a giant sigh. Well, I guess I had screwed up royally. Here I was, wanting to deepen my relationship with Meli, and instead I had made her so mad that she didn't even want to speak to me. I really had felt like all those things needed saying, but now I wished I had just kept my mouth shut. Kairi had always given me a hard time about my tendency to blurt out exactly what I was thinking when I got riled up.

"I always try so hard to get you to tell me what you're feeling," she would say, hands on her hips. "But I guess all I really need to do is make you mad, and you'll just let me have it!"

I smirked a little at the memory, but my mind quickly went back to Meli. What was done was done, so I guess now I just had to hope that something I said would actually click with her. She had to get rid of this Aiden guy, before he ended up doing something much worse. I didn't have many memories of how my dad had treated my mom, but I remembered enough to know that Aiden couldn't be much different. Of course, my mom hadn't left him, either. It was him that ended up leaving us first. I sighed again. Maybe I had been a bit too harsh with Meli, expecting her to be able to make that choice. I had let my concern for her and my own past experiences get the best of me, but I really couldn't actually place myself in her shoes.

I should probably go and apologize to her. Hopefully she had cooled off enough by now that she would actually listen. Pushing myself up out of the chair, I made my way back to her door and knocked lightly. "Meli?" I leaned my ear in close, but didn't hear anything. "Hey, I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but...I just wanted to say I was sorry." I listened again. There was no sign of life behind that door whatsoever. Either she was doing a really good job of being quiet and still, or she had left the room without me hearing.

I frowned, wondering where she might have gone, hoping that she wouldn't wander off too far on her own. She may have greatly improved in her fighting skills, but she wasn't used to tackling the Heartless alone. Part of me wanted to try to find her, but I didn't want to seem like a stalker, so I went back to my room to finish my now-cold food.

It was several minutes later when I heard a strange noise come from the hallway. Was that Meli, returning to her room? It hadn't sounded like a door closing, though. I couldn't quite place what it was. Then another noise came, and this time it was a voice, though it was hard to say whether it was a call or a groan. It filled me with a sense of unease, and I jumped to my feet, crossing quickly to the door. Leaning out into the hallway slightly, I turned my head back and forth, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound. "Meli? Did you call me?"

"I'm here." I wasn't sure which was more alarming, the fact that she sounded like she could barely speak, or that her voice definitely came from the direction of the floor. Without even thinking twice about it, I snatched up one side of my blindfold so that I could see what was happening. The sudden influx of light made me grimace, and I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. When I finally could see her, my heart dropped into my stomach, and an involuntary curse slipped out of my mouth.

Potions. I had to get potions. Dropping the blindfold back into place, I stepped over to my desk and grabbed two glass vials, holding them tightly in my fist as I hurried over to Meli's side. She was lying on her stomach, so I gently eased her over onto her side so that I could slide my hands underneath her head and knees and lift her onto my lap. She let out a quiet moan as I did so, and I tightened my jaw. The back of her head was wet with blood. There had been so much blood on her head and face, in fact, that I hadn't even been able to tell where it was all coming from. Removing my right arm from under her legs, I felt frantically for the first vial of potion and popped the cork out with my thumb, listening with pain in my own chest as she struggled to draw each breath.

"Here, drink this." I held the potion up to her lips, trying to keep my hand steady despite the fear and anger that were coursing through me. Who or what had done this to her? Heartless? Somehow it hadn't looked like a Heartless attack. It was hard to tell for sure, but it had seemed more like a beating than the normal scratches and bites from a Heartless or Dusk.

I felt Meli relax in my arms as the potion did its work. Her breathing slowed and quieted, and she stopped trembling. I gave her a moment before speaking again. "Do you still hurt anywhere?"

"I told you before I'm pretty pathetic when it comes to pain, but I think I'll be okay," Meli answered. She tried to push herself up off of my lap, but let out a tell-tale hissing sound as she did so. She was obviously still in pain.

"You don't have to be tough about this. Being beaten to within an inch of your life gives you plenty of excuse to be a little pitiful." I reached for the other vial, noticing that she didn't correct me about the beating. "Besides, if you're still hurting you can take another."

Meli took the potion from my hand and drank it, sighing deeply. "Thanks," she murmured. "I...probably wouldn't have made it if you hadn't heard me out here."

The knot in my stomach that had been slowly dissipating tightened again. What if I hadn't heard her? What if I had lost her? Even though we had only known each other a short time, the thought of her no longer being in my life was more than I could bear.

"What happened?" I asked her. When she didn't answer, my suspicions were confirmed. "You went back there, didn't you? To see him."

I couldn't see her response, of course, but I heard her shift positions and suck in a rattling breath. Placing a hand gently on her back, I felt her shaking with sobs, and couldn't help but wrap my arms around her and draw her back in close. She turned her face into my chest, and my heart skipped a couple of beats. Now's not the time to be enjoying her closeness, Riku. I honestly couldn't believe that she was allowing me to hold her like that, as eager as she had seemed to get off of me a minute ago. But I wasn't going to question it. I just squeezed her tightly and let her cry.

"I loved him," she hiccuped. "I thought he loved me, too."

I sighed heavily, wishing I knew what to say to ease the ache in her heart. Physical wounds I could heal, but it was too bad there wasn't some kind of potion that dealt with emotions. I would have stocked up on them for myself long ago if there was. Right now I needed one to take away the fury that was smoldering in my chest, before I ended up doing something stupid. Like, ask Meli to make another portal back to her universe so that I could go find Aiden and show him what it felt like to be beaten to a pulp. As much as I wanted to, I knew now wasn't the time for that, either. Meli needed me here. I would just have to hope that he would get his comeuppance sometime in the future.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wings of Avalon: **I currently have one more oneshot written from Riku's POV, towards the end of the story. I'd def be willing to write more if someone wants to throw me some ideas for what they'd like to see!

**Coolmegan123: **Thanks for the suggestion, I will do that from now on!

**Enamis09: **I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!

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**A/N: **For those of you who have been keeping up...my sisters and I finished the game last week! We were really surprised that we did. That's the fastest we've ever gotten through one! The endgame portion didn't take us nearly as long as usual, and I think it's because we leveled up so quickly throughout the game. ANYWAY, the point for you guys is that I am now back to writing Inferno's Edge! It took me a couple of days of contemplation and writing out timelines, but I think I know at least most of what's to come now. Yay!

I don't know if any of you have been enjoying the Kingdom Hearts-related exploits of my 4 year old, but here's another to add. She created her own OC the other day, whom she named after two sisters who are friends of ours. She dressed up in the outfit and described her Keyblade to me, and I later drew a picture for her, which you can see here (remove spaces and replace dotcom with the real thing): deviantart (dotcom)/ actress4him/ art/4-year-old-s-Kingdom-Hearts-OC-795068296?ga_submit_new=10&ga_type=edit&ga_changes=1

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_This oneshot is pretty short, and isn't quite as exciting as some of the others, I will admit haha. But I mentioned in the actual story that Meli was imagining the Organization having a discussion about her, knowing that in canon they actually were having a meeting at that exact moment, so I thought I'd write about that meeting._

_ This takes place right after Sora and Meli run into the entire Organization in Hollow Bastion with Leon._

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**Chapter 34.5**

**(Falls in the middle of chapter 34)**

**Xigbar's Perspective**

Leaving Sora and his friends behind in Hollow Bastion, Xigbar warped into the Organization's meeting room, where the other members were already starting to gather.

Xaldin was the first to speak up. "Do my eyes deceive me? Does he really have the power to wield the Keyblade? He is nothing but a boy."

Leave it to Xaldin to play the part of the skeptic. "Give him a chance. It means he's straight as an arrow." Xigbar pointed straight ahead to emphasize his point. "He's pure of heart, unlike all of us here."

"He had better be, or else he's worthless." Saix sounded perturbed, as always.

Luxord flipped a few of his ever-present playing cards out into his fingers, and Xigbar braced himself for the gambling pun that was sure to come. "I truly hope he's enjoying himself on his adventure. Maybe he'd like a hand in determining his fate."

Demyx wasn't usually one to say much during these meetings, so Xigbar was a bit surprised when he joined in. "Hey, as long as it works in our favor," he shrugged. "We can let him do what he wants for now. Then we'll all jump in if needed."

"Those are bold words coming from you," Xigbar sneered. "Are you saying you'll volunteer to take care of it if things go wrong? Huh?"

The reaction that got out of Demyx was expected. "What? Me? No, you have the wrong guy. I'm not comfortable with that." He waved his hands frantically in front of his face.

"You act as though you have a conscience," Xaldin remarked. "When was the last time any one of us felt anything?"

Luxord sighed. "Truer words were never spoken. Well, I suppose the fun will have to wait."

Xigbar was growing impatient. "Enough with the small talk, already. Are none of you going mention little poppet with the Keyblade? Don't tell me I'm the only one who was caught off guard by that one."

"No, I noticed her, as well," Luxord replied. "I knew nothing of her existence until today."

"I thought there was only one Keyblade bearer. When did we acquire another?" Xaldin asked.

Xigbar glared up at Xemnas, who had remained silent so far. "Anything you wanna share, Superior?"

The leader of the Organization was as stoic as ever. "This second Keyblade bearer has eluded my sight until now. However, her presence will not have any significant affect on the plans that we have already made. We will proceed as before, but we will also find out all that we can about this chosen of the Keyblade."

"Having two Keyblade bearers killing the Heartless should at least help us reach the end of our game sooner," Luxord pointed out.

"Perhaps she may be of some use other than just fighting the Heartless," Saix suggested.

Xemnas gave one nod. "Perhaps. Rest assured, she will play her part in what is to come." Taking a breath, he surveyed the room. "Gentlemen. The hero of the Keyblade has embarked on a new adventure. Make sure it is one he will remember. Now go."

Watching the others disappear into their corridors, Xigbar smirked. Whoever this new kid was, he had promised her that he'd keep his eye on her, and that's exactly what he planned on doing. Maybe he should just go ahead and catch up with her now.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Enamis09: **I had actually already written one of those scenarios from Riku's perspective, and now I have written the other one just for you! ;) Look for them both coming up in about 3 weeks!

**Coolmegan123: **No, she and Xigbar never technically met. But we know that she was being watched, so I was imagining that he got the surveillance started...maybe they all took turns, or maybe Xigbar just turned it over to Saix at some point. I'll let you guys decide that one!

**A/N: **Random thought...I just wanted to let you guys know that just because I sometimes do my own art for this story doesn't mean I wouldn't LOVE it if someone else wanted to do some fanart. I don't even really consider myself much of an artist, I'm just a visual person who really wants my story to have illustrations so I just go for it! But yeah, no pressure, but if any of you readers felt like at some point making art to go with any of my stuff, please share it with me! I would love you forever and ever and share the link for everyone to see (unless you for whatever reason didn't want me to).

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_Things take a more fun, lighthearted turn this week! Since I skimmed over most of Meli's travels with Sora and co, I figured I would include at least one oneshot from that time. What better subject to focus on than everyone's favorite world-traveling magic – transformations! You actually get three shots in one here. _

_ These mini-shots take place in Pride Lands, Halloweentown, and Christmas Town, respectively._

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**Chapter 34.5**

** (Falls in the middle of chapter 34)**

** Meli's Perspective**

Something was weird. Why did I feel so weird? I felt...short. Almost like I was on my hands and knees. Blinking away the effects of disembarking from my brain, I glanced down and nearly fell over with surprise. Were those...paws?

"Hey, check us out!" Sora cackled.

I whipped my head around to see a small brown lion only a few feet away from me, sitting back on his haunches and examining his front paws. For a moment fear rose up in my throat, but then the lion laughed again. Suddenly I noticed the familiar spiky hair, now in mane form, and the silver crown dangling from a chain around his neck. "S..Sora?"

Lion-Sora dropped his paws back onto the dusty ground and grinned toothily at me. "Hey, Mel, you look awesome, too!"

"I...what?" I looked down again, taking the time now to really realize what I was looking at. Dark, reddish-brown fur covered wide, fluffy paws where my hands should have been. I lifted one, somehow amazed to see the foreign limb actually respond to my will, and flexed, watching in fascination as sharp claws poked out from under the fur. "Am I a...lion?"

"You sure are!" Donald affirmed.

I turned to look at him, and cocked my head to the side to take in his new form. He didn't really actually look that much different, to be honest, having simply transformed into a different kind of bird. "I'm not sure what you are, but...hey, maybe you can actually fly now!"

Donald crossed his wings and glared. "Watch it."

"What am I? I can't tell!"

Turning once more, I busted out laughing as I finally saw Goofy. "You're...you...oh gosh, Goofy, you look ridiculous!"

The giant turtle with a dog head rocked side to side, trying to look at his own feet. "Do I? I feel kinda funny, a-hyuck."

"I'm sorry." I lifted one paw and swiped away the tears that had formed in my eyes, trying to contain my laughter. "I just was not expecting...that."

"So, this seems like it's gonna be a pretty interesting world." Sora flicked his tail back and forth as if trying to figure out how everything worked. "Not sure how we're gonna fight any Heartless we see like this, but I bet we'll figure it out."

"We might wanna just concentrate on figuring out how to walk first," I commented dryly.

"It's not that bad!" Goofy exclaimed. "Look, I'm doin' it!" He waddled by me, and I almost started cracking up again.

"Okay, well if you can do it, then I'm sure Sora and I can, too." I shifted each of my paws in the dirt one by one, focusing on the muscles required. "Alright, I'm just gonna go for it. No use thinking about it too hard, right?"

"Right!" Sora agreed.

"Alright, here goes." My plan was to leap gracefully forward. The result was somehow my face smacking the ground and my back end flying up over my head, landing me hard on my back. I stared up at the sky in a daze, unsure of what exactly had just happened, while all three of my companions laughed in the background.

"That's the funniest thing I've ever seen!"

Rolling over, I shot Donald a ferocious look, but he just continued guffawing and slapping the ground. "I'd like to see you try it," I hissed.

"That's alright, I'll just stick with my flying, thank you very much." With a toss of his head, he spread out his wings and gave a few strong flaps. He lifted off the ground just barely, then lost his balance and flipped over to land on his back, too.

Sora and Goofy burst into giggles again, and I joined in. "Serves you right."

.0.0.O.0.0.

"You're gonna love this world, Mel! It's one of my favorites!"

I was beginning to think that every world we visited was Sora's 'favorite', but he did seem particularly excited about this one. "Oh yeah? What's special about this world?"

"It's Halloween all the time!" He did a little jig in his chair as he announced this. "There's all these spooky decorations, and a cemetery, and a ghost dog..."

"And we all get to wear disguises!" Goofy put in.

"Thanks to my magic, of course," Donald pointed out proudly.

I smiled. "Sounds pretty fun." I had never been super into the spooky side of Halloween, but I did love seeing all the costumes and decorations.

"You bet it is!" Sora jumped up and beckoned us to follow him. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

When we had warped down and were safely on solid ground in the dark town, I immediately turned to examine everyone's new looks. "Sora...vampire, I'm guessing?"

He flashed a smile that was complete with fangs from under his pumpkin mask. "Yep!"

"Donald..." I cringed when I saw his mummy attire. "Ugh, you're like...missing half of your body!"

"What did you expect, some crummy costumes? These are professional disguises!"

"They didn't have to be gross, though." I shook my head and moved on to Goofy. "I think you're a zombie? The two different color eyes are pretty cool...in a freaky sort of way."

"Your eyes are kinda freaky, too," Goofy responded.

I blinked self-consciously. "Are they?"

"Yeah, you look so scary, Mel!" Sora exclaimed.

I was a little unsure if I actually wanted to see for myself, but I fumbled in my pocket for my mirror, anyway, noticing as I did that my clothes hadn't changed too much. They seemed faded, though, and each piece was ragged on the bottom, like it had been shredded. When I held up my hand with the mirror in it, I could also see that my arm was super pale, almost to the point of being transparent. Swallowing, I finally looked into the mirror. "Whoa."

"Isn't it cool?" Sora prodded excitedly.

"It's..." I shut my eyes, then opened them again, as if I expected the effect to suddenly disappear. My face, like my arm, was pure white, and my hair, though still purple, was faded to a dull, lifeless shade. But the weirdest part, by far, was my eyes – they were almost as white as my face, completely clouded over. I looked...dead, and I wasn't really sure how to feel about that. "Freaky."

.0.0.O.0.0.

Tumbling out into the snow, I shot up straight and wrapped my arms around myself. "Brr!" I had hoped maybe after Land of Dragons that we were done with the whole trekking through the snow thing, but no, we just had to come to the North Pole.

"Cool!" Sora drew out the word as if he was looking at the most awesome thing he had ever seen.

Glancing over, I noticed that he was staring down the hill in front of us, and followed his gaze to see a quaint little town sparkling with Christmas lights down below us. Then I did a double take, and took in Sora's appearance. "Wait, did we change clothes again?" His outfit didn't look that much different, but it did now more resemble a goth Santa suit rather than a vampire costume.

"Huh?" Sora looked down at his own clothes, then to Donald and Goofy. "Hey, look at you guys!"

"Wak!" Donald cried. I put a hand over my mouth to hide the grin that had crept onto my face. "I'm a snowduck!"

"Also, you seem to have a bucket on your head," I pointed out.

"What? Why?" He fumbled at the smashed-in bucket with his stick arms, a scowl on his face.

"Gawrsh, this nose is a little distractin'," Goofy remarked. He seemed to have turned into some kind of dog-reindeer hybrid, complete with flashing red nose.

"I like your curly antlers, though." I pointed to the top of his head, and he cut his eyes up, trying to see.

"A-hyuck, well thank ya Mel! And you make a pretty cute elf!"

Elf? Oh boy. Scrunching my eyes shut, I took a deep breath before looking down at my own outfit. I was almost blinded by the sight of it. The top was green, but with sleeves that were red, lime green, and gold striped. The skirt was green with red, lime green and gold polka dots, and everything was lined with white fur. Underneath were peppermint striped leggings, and my black boots now had white puff balls on the toes. I reached up to my head, and yep, there was an elf hat to complete the look.

"Seriously? Could we just pick one or two colors and one pattern and stick with that? I look like a walking candy store!" I flopped back onto my back in the snow. "Can I go back to being dead now?"

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Enamis09: **I'm glad that you're able to relax and unwind a little while reading my stories! Hope all goes well with your studies.

I actually did do a drawing of Meli in her elf costume which you can see on my deviantart page. This website doesn't let you post full links to other sites, so it's a little complicated to get there, but if you copy and paste the link below, change where it says (dotcom) to the real thing, and take out all the spaces, you'll be able to see it. Or you can just go to deviantart and search for actress4Him, and it should take you to my page to see all the drawings I've posted so far.

deviantart (dotcom)/ actress4him/ art/Christmas-Town-782415687

**TheCesar09: **Haha yep, pretty much!

**Coolmegan123: **Glad you enjoyed it! Yep, you should know by now that I love me some angst, but it's always nice to have some just for fun moments, too!

* * *

_Hope you guys enjoyed the lighthearted break last week, because we're back to dark, creepy, and angsty for the next few weeks haha. _

_ This short oneshot I think I originally wrote to give you guys a little peek at what Saix and Xemnas were actually up to in the other universe, since Meli never did really find out in Sorrow's Promise. Then I ended up editing the chapter (SPOILERS for the end of SP) where Aiden reappears to give a little more of a hint at what had been going on, mainly because I had refined the idea for myself while writing the sequel. I then edited this oneshot to reflect those changes. So now in this chapter you're getting a tiny bit more clarification about what they were doing, as well as a tiny bit of foreshadowing for Inferno's Edge (oooooooohh)!_

_ This takes place sometime during the middle of Meli's stay at The Castle That Never Was, probably close to the end._

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**Chapter 41.5**

** (Falls in the middle of chapter 41)**

** Saix's Perspective**

"You wanted to see me?" Saix wasted no time as he stepped out onto the rooftop from his dark corridor. He had plenty of other things that he could be doing right now, but of course no one could ignore a summons from the Superior.

Xemnas didn't turn to face him, but continue gazing up at Kingdom Hearts as he so often did. "Every day she grows bigger and more beautiful," he sighed. "The Keyblade bearer is doing his job well." As if on cue, tiny pink hearts appeared from the horizon, floating up to join with the giant glowing heart in the sky. "Yes, Kingdom Hearts, feast! Our time is nearly at hand!"

Saix cleared his throat lightly, trying not to sound too impatient, but unsure if Xemnas still remembered that he was standing there. The Superior's gaze lingered for just a moment longer, then he finally turned to address Saix. "How is your search coming along?"

"Nothing new to report," Saix admitted reluctantly. "I have revisited the doppelgangers of myself and Numbers VIII, IX, and XII, but they still refuse to listen to me. They seem to have no interest in coming to this universe at all, no matter how enticing I make it out to be. And other than those, I have not been able to locate any other doppelgangers." The whole thing was quite frustrating, if he was honest. It felt like a hopeless endeavor, but Xemnas had been very insistent that this path be taken, even though he wouldn't share his exact reasons. Only that it had something to do with a backup plan, which didn't make any sense to Saix. Kingdom Hearts was nearly complete, which meant they should all be getting their hearts back soon. Why would they need more members at this point, especially fully human doppelgangers of the members they already had?

"Keep searching," Xemnas returned. "The universe may be vast, but it is not infinite. And keep revisiting the ones you have found, as well. Sooner or later I believe that they will give in."

Saix clenched his teeth, biting back a sigh. "Yes, of course." At least he had that stupid, insolent girl that he could take his disdain for this task out on.

"How is the portal-maker?" Xemnas asked, as if reading his mind. "Does she continue to obey well?"

"Without question," Saix nodded, a smirk of satisfaction crossing his lips. "Vexen's tools have worked quite well." He paused, frowning again. "There is the issue, however, of her meals..."

"What kind of an issue?"

"She's been giving the majority of her food to the other prisoner," Saix explained. "I have not yet confronted her about it, so I do not know her reasoning. What would you suggest I do?"

Xemnas waved a hand dismissively. "As long as she remains alive and able to open portals, it is of no concern to me whether or not she starves herself. Until she can no longer perform her duties, leave her be."

"Very well." Saix gave a slight bow, then glanced back up at Xemnas. "Was that all?"

"Yes. Go, and report back to me if you find anything of interest."

"Of course." Opening another dark corridor, Saix exited quickly and made his way back to the laboratory. Apparently he had some more searching to do, so he might as well start right now.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	6. Chapter 6

** Enamis09: **Well, I don't claim to be an expert on the laws of time and space, but you're right, it sounds like a really bad idea for him to bring that many people over from one universe to another. We'll find out more in the sequel!

**Coolmegan123: **Glad I've got your interest! The stuff in that last oneshot is really more of a subplot in the sequel, but I hope it still ends up being satisfactorily intriguing.

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**A/N: **Update on "Inferno's Edge"! I'm currently in the middle of writing chapter 42, and based on what I counted last night this story should be going to around 46 chapters. Kinda hard to believe, actually, that I'm that close to finishing, but there's still a whole lot of stuff that's going to happen over the next few chapters. And, of course, that's just the first draft, so there will be plenty of work still to go after I reach the end.

Anyway, for comparison, Sorrow's Promise was 54 chapters. But before you get too disappointed over the difference in length...I reached Sorrow's Promise's word count of 96,000 in chapter 38 of Inferno's Edge. So, yeah...we'll have fewer weeks of updates, but each chapter is up to twice as long as the chapters were before. Hopefully that's a good trade off for everyone!

* * *

_I got the idea for this oneshot based on the sentence in Sorrow's Promise that says Saix left Meli "sitting in various spots, sometimes in a back alley, or an abandoned shed, or just tucked away in a corner where no one would notice". I wanted to give a little more of a glimpse into the kinds of things Meli went through during her time with the Organization._

_Thank you to **Enamis09** for helping with the Fren__ch bits in this chapter!_

_ This, like the last chapter, takes place sometime while Meli is captive._

* * *

**Chapter 42.5**

** (Falls in the middle of ****chapter 42)**

** Random Citizen's Perspective**

The last thing that he had expected to see when he opened the door to his shed was a stranger sitting inside. But there she was, huddled in the corner, staring up at him with wide, fearful eyes. He had almost missed her to start with, it was so dark in the room and she was so slight. She almost looked more like _un fantôme _than an actual human being.

"_Qu'est-ce que c'est? Que fais-tu ici?_" he demanded, shaken by her unexpected appearance.

The girl shook her head frantically, spewing out a stream of mumbled words. Was she speaking English? How did _une fille Anglaise_ end up homeless, like she obviously was, in the suburbs of Paris? His own English was limited, but he caught a few things she was saying - "sorry", "please", "wait here".

"I am sorry." He spoke slowly, deliberately, making sure to enunciate each word. "You not be here." Just in case his words were not clear, he shook his head and gestured towards the door.

The girl's eyes immediately welled up with tears. "Please, _monsieur_."

He felt sorry for her, he really did. But he was in a hurry to get back inside to his children, and there were expensive tools in this shed. He did not have the time to struggle through a conversation in a foreign language, nor could he dare to let her stay here. "You go," he stated firmly, pointing to the door once more. It's not like the weather was bad outside. She would be fine.

The tears spilled over onto the girl's cheeks as she struggled to her feet and shuffled past him, arms wrapped around her stomach. "I'm sorry," she whispered again.

He merely waved her on, then proceeded to grab what he had come out here for. When he came back out a minute later, making sure to lock the shed door behind him this time, he spotted the girl a few yards away, sitting cross-legged at the base of a tree next to the road. _La pauvre chose_.

Over the next thirty or so minutes, he couldn't help but glance out the window from time to time, seeing if she was still there. Every time, she looked like she hadn't even changed positions at all. When he was just about to forget about her altogether, he heard what sounded like a scream from outside, and rushed back to the window. Someone in a long, black coat was bent over the girl. Even from this distance, he could see the pain etched into her features, could tell from the way she was leaning forward that she wanted to curl in on herself, but the person in the coat was holding her head back by a fistful of hair.

Shocked, he wavered by the window. Should he go out and try to stop whatever was happening? It wasn't really any of his business. But then again, perhaps he was at least partially at fault for her being attacked. Mustering his courage, he turned and jogged through the house to the back door, throwing it open before he could change his mind.

They were gone. Both the girl and the black-coated figure had disappeared, leaving no trace of their presence behind. "_Qu'est-ce que_...?" he muttered to himself. Perhaps it was time he gave into his wife's requests to move to the country. Things were getting too strange around here.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	7. Chapter 7

** Enamis09: **I appreciate your help with the last chapter! I forgot you spoke French, I should have just asked you to start with haha! I did realize that translating "what in the world?" straight into French probably wasn't accurate, but when I searched the internet for French exclamations all I came up with was profanity.

**Coolmegan123: **Yep, he definitely would not have been happy about that at all.

* * *

_ I probably went way longer than I needed to with this one, but I wanted to include everything I could. You guys have never complained about my chapters being too long before, haha, so I doubt it will be an issue. Hopefully not, because the chapters in the upcoming sequel are running at least this long most of the time!_

_ This takes place as everyone is arriving at The Castle That Never Was for the endgame, when Saix is forcing Meli to fight._

_As requested by _**_Enamis09_**_! Thank you!_

* * *

** Chapter 43/44 Remix**

** (Runs parallel to chapters 43 and 44)**

** Riku's Perspective**

The Organization's fortress was like a labyrinth – a completely disorienting maze of hallways, with who knows what kind of danger lurking around each corner. I was glad that I actually had the use of my eyes for this task, though it crossed my mind that wearing the blindfold and relying on my other senses might actually be easier. Shutting my eyes, I exhaled slowly, listening for any signs of life. There, on the floor above me. Two or more voices were having a conversation.

It was almost surreal, thinking that this whole ordeal was almost at an end. Sora and the others had finally found their way to The World That Never Was, and would be arriving at the castle soon, if they hadn't already. I trusted that my friend and his friends would make short work of whatever Organization members they came across, as they had so far on their journey.

Meanwhile, DiZ – or, Ansem the Wise, I supposed I should be calling him now – and I had our own plans to carry out. He was ahead of me, heading up as high as he could manage with his Kingdom Hearts-destroying contraption. Both of us had serious doubts about whether or not the thing would actually work, but it was worth a shot.

At the same time, Naminé was on a mission to rescue Kairi. She had volunteered to come along when I told her what we were doing, and it was decided that she would be the best person for that job. My job was scouting, trying to get an idea of the layout of this place, making sure the girls had a clear path to escape, and, though I hadn't mentioned this part to anyone else, looking for any signs of Meli. I was hoping I wouldn't find any. I didn't want here to be the answer of where she was, but after weeks of searching I hadn't found her anywhere else.

When I reached the top of the ramp I had been navigating, I was met with two giant Berserker Nobodies. Peering around them, I could see both Naminé and Kairi on the stairs to the next level, facing off against someone in an Organization coat.

"If I had a heart, this is where I would die of laughter," the man was sneering.

Not wasting another moment, I summoned Way to the Dawn and let loose a barrage of hits on the back of the first Berserker. It never saw me coming, and fell to the ground with a crash. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man turn to face me, but I didn't acknowledge him until I made short work of the second Berserker.

"You...didn't Roxas take care of you?"

Dropping my Keyblade to my side, I glared at him, not at all appreciating the reference to that particular fight. I was quickly distracted, however, by the small figure whose shoulder he was clamped down on. Could it be? Her back was turned to me and her hood was up, but what I could see of her outfit was very familiar.

"You can take it from here, Riku."

I flicked my eyes up to Naminé and resisted the urge to growl with frustration. Hadn't I specifically told her that Sora and Kairi never needed to know that it was me?

It was too late now, though. Kairi straightened up and looked from Naminé to me with surprise and confusion on her face. "Riku?"

Okay, it was time to send this guy packing so that these girls – all three of them – could be on their way. If that was really Meli, the possessive hand on her shoulder was making me very angry. Dismissing my Keyblade, I blasted the blue-haired man with dark energy from my hand, which he blocked with crossed arms before back flipping away. Before he could completely recover, I rushed forward and slammed him up against the wall. He wheezed slightly as his breath left him, but then simply smirked and sank back into a dark corridor.

I had every intention of following him. The girls would be able to continue through the castle now, and if I could get rid of this guy then he'd be one less for Sora to worry about later. Out of nowhere, though, a dog ran up to me, barking, startling me and making me hesitate. Kairi was right on his heels, staring up at me eagerly. She wanted to know, wanted to see my face. It was the last thing in the world that I had wanted, but...could I really stop her now, when Naminé had specifically called me out?

Her big blue eyes searched underneath the darkness of my hood. She was different, I noticed for the first time. Familiar, unchanged in many ways, but much older and more mature than she had been when we had left her. Lifting her delicate hands towards my face, she paused, uncertain, then reached up and pushed back my hood. I turned my head away immediately, too ashamed to watch her reaction.

"But...I thought you said..."

Naminé stepped forward. "It is Riku. You just have to look past his appearance. Look at his heart."

After a moment, small fingers hooked around mine. I watched her in my periphery as she closed her eyes and drew in a breath, unconsciously holding my own. Then her eyes flew open again and she grinned. "It is you! But I don't understand, how...?"

"I'll have to explain later. We don't have time right now."

A throat cleared loudly behind us, and I whirled around to see the girl from before watching us. "Meli!" I was certain now that it was her.

"Hello, Riku."

She still wasn't calling me Grim. It was a silly thing to miss, I supposed, but I had eventually realized that for Meli, it was more than just a stupid nickname. It was a term of affection, and as long as she refused to use it I knew that our problems were still far from resolved.

Kairi's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Wait...you two know each other?"

"Naminé, get Kairi out of here," Meli ordered without moving. "Go find Sora. He's here somewhere."

"Okay. Let's go, Kairi." Naminé grabbed her Somebody's hand, but Kairi shook her head adamantly.

"No, wait. I'm not leaving you guys."

I still hadn't stopped looking at Meli. Something was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. "We'll catch up. You need to get to Sora where you'll be safe."

"Fine," Kairi finally, reluctantly agreed. "But it better be quick."

As the two girls disappeared down the ramp, I took a deep breath, wondering if this conversation was going to end as badly as the last two had. "Where have you been? When I found out you weren't with Sora anymore, I was worried sick."

"Oh, because I'm not capable of taking care of myself?"

Okay, apparently the answer was yes, this conversation was going to go much like the others. I shook my head in frustration. "You know that's not what I meant. I was just worried maybe the Organization had gotten to you, or..." There was no reaction from her, though with her face heavily shadowed by her hood it was hard to tell anything for sure. "Where have you been?"

"I've been here. I've joined them. Organization XIII. I'm one of them now."

"What?" That was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. "What are you talking about?"

"You were right, my darkness has been growing. I'm done with heroes of light like Sora and his friends." The venom in her voice said she was telling the truth, but her body was telling a different story. She looked...tired. Her posture had a slight slump to it that I wasn't used to seeing, and she also seemed unnaturally thin. Even from this distance, I could see that her clothes were hanging more loosely around her frame, and that the muscle definition she had gained in her arms was now missing.

"If that's true...if you're here of your own free will...then why does it look like you've lost weight?" I didn't even know for sure what I was implying. Was she a prisoner, like Kairi? But why would she be trying to sell me this ridiculous story?

"Been on a diet," she replied shortly. Suddenly she jerked, though the movement was subtle enough that I would have missed it if I hadn't been studying her so closely. Then, in a puff of smoke, Sorrow's Promise was in her hand. She let out a sigh before speaking again. "The important thing is, I have orders to get rid of all intruders."

I crossed my arms, still trying to wrap my brain around what was happening. "I don't want to fight you, Meli." If only I could look into her eyes and read the truth there. "Why don't you take off that hood and let me see your face so we can talk?"

"I'm done with talking." Raising her Keyblade, she ran at me, but I simply stepped to the side and backed away.

"You don't really want to do this, do you?" It wasn't like we hadn't fought plenty of times before in training, but it was the last thing I wanted to be doing right now. All I wanted was to be able to have a decent, straightforward conversation for the first time in months, without all of these games and lies and defensiveness. My life without her in it was dull and lonely, and I just wanted to go back to the way we had been before, if that was at all possible after what I had done to her.

She didn't answer my question, but I thought I saw a smirk cross her lips right before she disappeared into a dark corridor. I had barely even blinked when she reappeared again, this time right in front of me and swinging. My own Keyblade was in my hand in an instant, blocking hers before it crashed into my chest. When had she learned that trick? Her swings came one after another now, not as hard as I knew she could hit, but forceful enough that they could have done some damage if they had landed. Maybe she really did want to fight me after all. Or maybe she was just counting on me to be able to parry her, like I almost always had during training.

I blocked left, right, then left again, not bothering to try to get in any of my own hits. When our weapons clashed once more up high, Meli frowned from beneath her hood. "Is that a...Keyblade?" She pushed away a few steps, chest heaving for air. "How did that happen?"

"I don't really know. It just sort of showed up one day not long ago." I glanced down at the red blade with a small sigh. "I'm still not really sure that I'm worthy of using it."

"Well, congratulations," she commented dryly.

"Meli...can we stop this madness now?" Surely she wasn't going to keep forcing this fight.

Her answer was to shoot Blizzaga at me. "I told you, the Organization wants you gone. So unless you just want to leave..."

"Can't do that. Not while all of my friends are here...including you." Especially her.

"Well, I'm not going to be leaving here anytime soon." There was something in her voice as she said it...dread? Resignation? "And as for your friends, they're next to go after you." I couldn't tell if that was a threat or a warning.

Dark Firaga came flying at my face, and I deflected it off of my Keyblade. Then Meli was there again, swinging her weapon, but the strength of her blows seemed to be decreasing rapidly.

"You keep trying to convince me..." I blocked a swing towards my left arm. "...that you're on..." Jumped over a low swing. "...their side..." Blocked a hit coming straight at my head. "...but you forget how well..." Stopped a swing coming at my right hip. "...I know you. I've fought you..." Ducked out of the way of a spell. "...a hundred times..." Spun around to find her after she teleported behind me. "...before, and I can tell..." Blocked another head-on swing. "...that you're only half-trying..." Stepped back to avoid a too-short swing at my stomach. "...right now."

This seemed to agitate her, and as if to prove herself, she geared up for one big, sloppy swing. Her Keyblade clanked loudly against mine, then she was stumbling to the side, dropping her weapon and falling on her knees on the white marble floor. Her hood covered her ducked face completely, but her body language spelled defeat. Something was definitely wrong. If that hadn't been obvious before, it was now. She should not be this utterly exhausted and out of breath after that little spat.

"I can't. I can't do it."

I could barely hear the whispered words. Dismissing my Keyblade, I took a few tentative steps towards her, hoping that she'd finally let me in and tell me what was going on. Instead, she jerked again, harder this time, and groaned through her teeth. Doubling over with her arms across her stomach, she let out a raw scream. "What do you want from me?"

I halted in my tracks, taken aback. What did I want from her? Was this about me saying that she was only half-trying? I wouldn't have said it if I had realized how tired she really was, though I was glad that it had brought an end to the fight. "Meli..."

Her head came up, and some semblance of a smile crossed her lips. "I forgive you."

That almost surprised me more than the scream had. "What?"

"I need you to know that." She placed her hands on the floor and pushed herself up slowly, almost falling back over once or twice before she made it to her feet. "I forgive you, for everything...Grim."

My eyebrows shot up. Warmth flooded through me, beginning in my chest and flowing out into my limbs until I felt like I might float away. I really didn't even know which meant more to me, the forgiveness, or the fact that she had called me Grim. If it wasn't for my growing concern about her condition, a grin would have broken out on my face right then and there.

But Meli was backing away, hugging herself, and throwing out her hand to open a dark corridor behind her.

"No, Meli, wait! Please!" I lunged forward, desperate to stop her, but she was already running through. The corridor snapped shut in my face, leaving me staring at the empty white walls of the fortress. "Meli...why?"

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	8. Chapter 8

**LostinWonderlandd: **Thank you so much! I love to hear that people love Riku and Meli together. And thanks for saying it's your favorite, that's so encouraging!

** Enamis09: **We already communicated a couple of times through private message, but I just wanted to leave you another quick note to say that I'm glad that these stories can cheer you up on your bad days! Good luck on your Spanish test (tomorrow, I think?)!

**xOneskyx: **Haha I know what you mean about being glad you found a story after it was already finished! As a writer I love my cliffhangers, but as a reader it's so nice when I can just skip through them. It's so nice to hear that you love Meli and Riku's relationship. Thanks for leaving a review!

**A/N: **Psst...hey guys, guess what? I finished the first draft of Inferno's Edge. Eeek! Now I just have to, you know...write an entire second draft. Nbd.

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_This oneshot was technically requested by __**Enamis09 **__as well, but I had already written it when they requested it. In other words, I wrote this one first, before the last one! It runs pretty long, too, but it's another one of my favorites. _

_ I was inspired to write it mainly because of several comments I received on Sorrow's Promise, imagining what Riku's response to Meli's condition would be. I tried to incorporate as much of his feelings on the matter as possible into the main story, but with it being from Meli's perspective there was only so much I could do, of course. So...yay for oneshots!_

_ From the last oneshot, we skipped over Meli and Riku's second meeting at the castle, where he knocks her hood off and he and Sora refuse to fight her. This one starts off not long after that, during Sora's fight with Luxord._

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**Chapter 46/47 Remix**

** (Runs parallel to chapters 46 and 47)**

** Riku's Perspective**

She was gone. She had disappeared again. Not only that, but this time it was definitely not of her own free will, and the look of complete terror on her face just before the corridor took her...it was haunting my thoughts still.

If only we could find where in this blasted castle they were hiding her! But instead, we were stuck dealing with yet another member of Organization XIII. Even worse, the guy had thrown around some giant playing cards and made himself and Sora disappear, leaving me here to berate myself for letting her slip away.

As soon as I saw her, my gut had told me something was off. She had always been thin, but it had no longer seemed natural. Then of course when she had started spouting off about working with the Organization, I automatically knew that she was lying. She had been struggling lately, sure, mostly thanks to me. But my Meli would never have fallen that far, to willingly join the bad guys. So why hadn't I figured it out? Why had I not been able to put two and two together, and realize that she was being somehow forced into these attempts at battle?

I kicked the balcony railing, thinking back on the moment when the truth had finally slapped me in the face. I would never forget seeing her eyes for the first time this day, seeing the evidence of whatever atrocities they had been inflicting on her. Grinding my teeth together, I leaned over and clutched the banister, digging my fingertips into the stone.

Where are you, Meli? What are they doing to you now?

At that moment, the giant playing cards flew by again, and Sora reappeared from behind them, without the Organization member.

"You okay?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, no worries!" Sora grinned. "Let's keep moving."

We made our way back inside, down a long, curved hallway. Ahead, I could see Kingdom Hearts shining through floor-length windows. My attention was quickly diverted, however, when we walked out into the large, open room and found both Meli and the blue-haired man she had first appeared with standing in front of the windows.

I barely even heard the short exchange between the Organization member and Sora through the blood roaring in my ears. Taking a step forward, I stared the man down. "You need to let Meli go."

"Yeah, or you're gonna regret it!" Sora piped in.

"Let her go?" The man gave an evil laugh. "Why, she's welcome to run into your arms whenever she pleases. Go on, Meli, why don't you run and see your friends?"

She stood her ground, though I had no doubt by now she had been threatened in some way to do so. "I know you've done something to her. Don't try to keep pretending that she wants to be here."

"Oh, don't worry, I won't." A blue and gold claymore flashed into his hands. "She's only here now so that she can watch all of you die."

Sora already had his Keyblade at the ready, but before I could summon mine, a blast of wind nearly knocked all of us over. I saw debris flying towards us, and managed to tear my mind away from Meli long enough to turn and block Kairi from being hit. I couldn't hold my ground. I tried to dig my heels into the floor, but the windstorm blew both Kairi and me back out into the hallway.

As soon as I felt a break in the wind, I spun around to try to re-enter the room, but could immediately see that he had put up a barrier wall to prevent just that. "No!" I growled, slamming my fist into the nearly-invisible surface and sending a wave of blue light across it. "Meli!"

"It's gonna be okay." I looked back over my shoulder at Kairi, and she gave me a faint, brave smile. "Sora and the others are in there with her. They'll take care of that guy."

I turned back and rested my forehead against the barrier, exhaling sharply. I knew they would. I trusted them. But I wanted to take care of him myself. If this was the guy who had been hurting Meli, then I wanted to get my hands on him and make him suffer.

I didn't want Meli to be alone, either. Even if I couldn't be fighting her captor, I could have been at her side, helping her, assuring her that everything was going to be okay now. Looking past the epic battle happening in the middle of the room, I watched her, searching for any signs that she was in pain. Unfortunately, I could see them despite the distance. She was tense, afraid to move, her expression clearly distressed.

Hang on, Meli. Just hang on another minute.

Cutting my eyes back over to Sora, I watched anxiously as he and the others dealt their final blows to the blue-haired Organization member. There, he was done for. My satisfaction at knowing that he had met his just end was quickly replaced by impatience when he didn't just vanish right away.

"Why...Kingdom Hearts...where is my heart?" He stretched his hand out towards the glowing heart, then finally began to dissipate.

The barrier wall came down, and I was at a full-out run immediately. The cry that came out of Meli hardly even sounded like her, and made my heart leap into my throat. When I reached her at last, she was convulsing, gasping for air.

"Meli! It's okay. He's gone. You're safe now." I wanted to grab her up and hold onto her so badly.

"No! I'm not...I can't..." She still hadn't moved an inch, her body trembling all over. "It hurts!"

Despite already knowing this, her admission of it tore at my heart. "What hurts?" I would have done anything to make it better, to make all of the hurt go away. Stepping forward, I reached out to gently touch her shoulders.

"No, don't touch me!" Her shriek sent me backwards, but the acute pain that tightened her expression and the whimper that followed nearly broke me. I waited with my jaw clenched tight while she took deep, ragged breaths, collecting herself. "Please, don't touch me," she finally whispered. "You'll only make it worse."

My throat was too tight for me to even force myself to speak for a few seconds. "Meli, please. You've got to tell me what's going on, or I can't help you."

"You can't help me anyway." She closed her eyes, jaw twitching. After a moment, she spoke again, so softly that I could barely hear. "Under my shirt. It's under my shirt."

I stared blankly for a moment, then turned to look at Sora and Kairi for the first time. Sora was just staring back at me with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Kairi, however, read my unspoken question and took a step towards Meli.

"I'm going to lift your shirt now, okay?" Gently grasping the hem, Kairi pulled it up slowly.

I didn't know really what to expect – perhaps a gaping wound, though there was no sign of blood. What I certainly didn't expect was the black that I saw. Just black, from the band of her skirt up over her ribs, wrapped all the way around her.

"What is that?" Sora asked, voicing all of our thoughts.

Meli still had her eyes closed, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. "I don't know...but it hurts. I can't...every time I move, it gets stronger. Saix had the controller in his pocket. That was the only way to turn it off or remove it, and it's gone."

No wonder she didn't want me touching her. With a pit in my stomach, I glanced over to where the Organization member – Saix, apparently – had disappeared, feeling renewed hatred for him.

"You're gonna have to just kill me."

The words caught me completely off guard. I turned back to meet her gaze, mouth open to respond though I didn't quite know what to even say.

"Please, Grim." The haunted look in her blue eyes pierced into me. "I don't wanna die, but...I can't keep going much longer. I would much rather it be you than this thing."

I swallowed hard. "I'm not going to kill you, Meli. There's got to be another way."

"What are you going to do, march up to Xemnas and ask if he has a spare remote?"

I didn't take the time to reflect on how she was being her usual stubborn, sarcastic self even now. While she was speaking, an idea had occurred to me. "If that's what it takes, then yeah. But first, let's try this." Flicking my wrist, I summoned Way to the Dawn, and the others around me stepped back. I held the Keyblade straight out in front of me, and just as I had hoped, a beam of light shot out from the tip and enveloped the device on her waist. It only took a few seconds for the hateful thing to click and drop to the floor.

Meli was falling. That was the next thing that my brain registered, and I released my Keyblade just in time to leap forward and catch her in my arms. As I knelt down on the floor with her resting on my lap, my brain flashed back to the mansion hallway so long ago. I had never wanted to see her in that much pain again, yet here we were.

"He said you couldn't save me. He said there was no other way." She was crying into my shoulder, soaking the black fabric of my coat.

I brushed a strand of her purple hair, looking much duller than usual, away from her face. "He lied. But it's okay. You're safe."

Oh, my sweet Meli. Whether you ever find it in your heart to love me or not, I will never let anyone hurt you like that ever again. I rocked her gently, rubbing her thin little arm as she continued to take shuddering breaths against me. If only I had gotten to her quicker, before any of this last pain had occurred.

"I should have seen it." I shook my head, furious with myself. "I should have seen that she was hurting, and pulled her out sooner."

Kairi dropped down to one knee next to us. "I knew they were doing something to her, every time they would take her out of the cell and she would come back hardly able to eat anything. I had no idea how bad it was, though."

"What is this thing, anyway?" Sora bent down and picked up the black band off of the floor, wrinkling his nose at it. "Do you think it was using some kind of electricity?"

I looked down, noticing for the first time the black lightning-shaped marks that were covering her skin where the band had been. Lifting the shirt slightly higher to see better, I felt anger rising up my throat again. "Looks like it could have been. There's something else, too, though. I smell darkness on that band, like there was some kind of dark energy involved."

Meli suddenly jolted, fighting to sit up, clawing at her shirt. I grabbed her wrists, tucking them between us as I pulled her back into myself. "Hey, hey, it's okay!" She grunted at me and remained tense, but didn't struggle anymore. Looking up at Sora, I indicated Meli with my head. "Sora, would you...?"

"Oh yeah, sure!" Summoning his Keyblade, he hoisted it into the air and called out, "Meli!" Green light fell down around us, settling over Meli's body before vanishing. Immediately I felt her relax, and her breathing slowed to a steadier rhythm.

It didn't take but a second for her to start trying to sit up again, but I still had my arms wrapped tightly around her. Glancing down at her stomach, I could see that the marks had faded, but they were still definitely visible. "Let's do one more...just in case. There's no telling what that did to the inside of her body."

This time it was Donald who cast Curaga, and this time I let Meli up, though reluctantly. Automatically I missed the warmth of her body against mine. After yanking her shirt back down, she dropped her gaze to her lap. "Thank you, everyone. I owe you guys big time."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Sora assured her.

Goofy stepped forward. "We're just glad we could help."

"I'm pretty sure it's me that owes you," Kairi added, smiling softly. "You've been giving me most of your food for weeks, remember?"

I felt a pang in my chest as I realized then why she looked so thin and sickly – though the pain she had obviously been going through probably contributed, as well. As I started thinking about it again, I tensed in renewed anger, my hands curling up into tight fists.

"That was...don't worry about that," Meli was replying. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"And we're just glad that you're okay." She looked up at me when I spoke, but couldn't seem to hold eye contact for long. "I wish I had been the one to give that..." I cut myself off before saying something I shouldn't, clearing my throat, then continued. "That psychopath the justice he deserved, but...the important thing is that he's gone now." And that she was safe. I had to keep reminding myself of that, that she was safe now. Though, sitting here looking at her, it was clear that it would be some time before she was actually okay again, and I wasn't sure if I'd ever forgive myself for that.

** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Enamis09: **Thanks for your requests! There will def be some more Meliku in a couple of weeks, and of course we'll get a lot more of them in the sequel! Most of the rest of what you mentioned will have to wait until later on...everyone hanging out together in Destiny Islands, meeting new people, etc...some of that happens in the sequel, and some of it could maybe be oneshots to go along with the sequel. I do want to do the scene from Meli's childhood that you requested, though. I'll get that up in a few weeks after the rest have been posted.

**Coolmegan123: ** You're the second or third person who has mentioned that these oneshots have made them realize how deep Meli and Riku's relationship really is. It made me stop and wonder if I had been doing something wrong in the actual story! But I realized the answer is, it has always been deeper from Riku's perspective than it was from Meli's. He fell in love with her first, and never stopped being in love with her, while her feelings for him were on a rollercoaster ride. It was only at the very end of the story that they started being on the same level with how they felt about each other.

Thanks for your reviews!

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_This oneshot is actually part one of two...the second part is from a different character's perspective, and will be posted next week. It was one of those scenes that I was lying in bed imagining how it would go, but couldn't include because Meli was absent or __unconscious for most of it._

_ This takes place right after everyone arrived back at Destiny Islands and the boys disappeared into the Realm of Darkness, when Meli and friends are making their way to Kairi's house._

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**Chapter 51.5**

** (Falls in the middle of chapter 51)**

** Kairi's Perspective**

Kairi was trying her best not to look as anxious as she felt, but it was only partially working. Bouncing up onto her toes slightly as she walked, she peered ahead down the road, even though she knew that her house was still way too far away to see. Then she glanced back at her friends, and immediately felt guilty for being so preoccupied with thoughts of her parents. Poor Meli's face was as white as a sheet and beaded with sweat as she shuffled slowly up the sandy path, leaning heavily on Goofy's arm. If only she wasn't so stubborn, Kairi sighed to herself, but shook the thought away. If it had been her in that position, she might have been too embarrassed to accept the help, too.

Of course Donald wasn't going to be quite as understanding. "Are you sure you don't want him to just carry you?" he asked impatiently.

Meli shook her head, but kept her lips pressed together and didn't say anything. It looked like it was taking all of her focus and energy just to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

King Mickey looked up at Kairi sympathetically. "Kairi, why don't ya go on ahead of us? You can let your parents know that we're comin', and we'll meet ya there."

Clasping her hands behind her back, Kairi cleared her throat, wondering if she had really been that obvious. "Oh, no, I'm fine. I want to stay with you guys."

Halting in her tracks, Meli made eye contact with Kairi for the first time since they had arrived on the beach. "You should go," she said hoarsely. "Go see your parents."

Kairi drew in a breath and held it, looking each friend in the face for assurance that it was really alright. "Okay," she finally responded, blowing the air out. "Just...to tell them you're coming. Maybe they can get some food started for us."

Full of nervous energy, Kairi turned and began to jog up the path, momentarily pushing her worry over Meli, Sora, and Riku to the back of her mind and letting her excitement and relief at being back home take the forefront. Before long, the familiar brick facade and white columns came into view, and she quickened her pace, a smile spreading across her face. Home. There had been times over the past weeks that it had been hard to believe she would make it back here. She couldn't imagine what her parents had been through, wondering where she had disappeared to. They were going to be completely ecstatic to see her.

The front door was unlocked, as always. Pushing it open, Kairi breathed in the scent of the potpourri that her mom always kept on a side table in the foyer. "Mom? Dad? I'm home!"

There was a thump from upstairs, like something had been dropped, followed by the sound of footsteps running down the hall. Her mother appeared at the top of the stairs, and Kairi grinned. "Mom!"

"Kairi!" Mrs. Yoshida cried. She flew down the steps and into her daughter's arms. "Kairi, oh my baby, you're home!" In a moment, Mr. Yoshida had joined them, too, wrapping his arms around both his wife and daughter. The trio stayed like that for a long time, alternating between laughing and crying, no one really wanting to let go. Finally Kairi stepped back, wiping her face with the heel of her hand, and looked into the faces of her parents. Besides just the tears still streaking her mother's cheeks, she could tell that the last several weeks had been hard on them both. Their faces looked weary from worry and probably lack of sleep.

"When I heard your voice down here, I thought I was imagining things again," Mrs. Yoshida murmured. "Oh, Kairi sweetie, where have you been?"

Kairi took a deep breath. "I was...kidnapped." She saw her mom's face pale, and hurried to continue. "But I'm okay. They didn't hurt me, and...they're gone now. Sora and Riku took care of them, so we don't have to worry about them anymore."

Mrs. Yoshida embraced her daughter again. "We were so worried about you. I'm so glad you're okay."

"You said you saw Sora and Riku?" Mr. Yoshida asked.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah. They helped me escape, along with some other friends. But they..." Tears filled her eyes again. "They got left behind. There was one of the bad guys left, the leader. We thought he was gone, but...when we were trying to leave, the exit got cut off before they could make it through. We think they must be still fighting him now."

"I'm sorry, sugar," her dad responded, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I know how much you miss them, and must be worried about them. But I know those boys, and they'll make it through somehow."

"Yeah, I know." Kairi gave him a wobbly smile. "That's what I kept telling Meli...oh! Meli!" Kairi looked over her shoulder at the front door suddenly, having momentarily forgotten about her mission.

"Who's Meli, sweetie?"

"She's a friend. She's on her way here now, with Donald and Goofy and the King," Kairi hurried to explain.

"The King?" Mr. Yoshida echoed, surprise evident in his voice.

"King Mickey. They're all friends of Sora and Riku, and helped with the fight. I'm sorry, normally you know I would have asked before inviting people over, but everyone's exhausted and hungry and needed somewhere to go..."

"Say no more," Kairi's dad replied with a smile. "We haven't had breakfast this morning, either. How do pancakes and eggs and bacon sound?" He was already turning to head into the kitchen.

"Heavenly," Kairi sighed. "Thanks, Dad."

"Don't you worry about inviting them over without asking," Mrs. Yoshida assured her. "It sounds like we owe them a debt of gratitude, anyway."

Kairi nodded in agreement. "They were all important to us getting out of there. But Meli has been taking care of me ever since she got there. She was a prisoner, too, and I would've been a lot worse off if it hadn't been for her." Another tear unexpectedly rolled down her cheek. "She's in bad shape, Mom. I'm really worried about her."

At that moment, the doorbell rang out through the foyer. "There they are now!" Kairi exclaimed, rushing over to the door. She swung it open eagerly, only to see Meli's limp body draped across Goofy's arms. Kairi gasped. "What happened?"

"She fainted right after you left," King Mickey explained. "I knew she was pushin' herself too hard."

Mrs. Yoshida walked up behind her daughter, placing one hand on her shoulder and gesturing inside with the other. "Come in, come in. Bring her in here and put her on the sofa." Kairi glanced up at her, admiring the woman for her ability to take any situation in stride. She gave no indication whatsoever that she had noticed the strange appearances of the visitors, just jumped in and began playing hostess and nurse without a second thought.

Kairi trailed after her friends into the room that her mom had indicated, the seldom-used living room. Goofy placed Meli gently on the couch, and the King fluffed a throw pillow underneath her head. A moment later, Mrs. Yoshida reappeared with a bottle in her hand, one that Kairi recognized as the electrolyte-filled drink that they kept on hand in case anyone got sick.

"My mom's a nurse," Kairi announced to the room. "You can help her, right Mom?"

King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy scattered to the side to let Mrs. Yoshida come in closer to the couch. Kneeling down on the rug, she reached out her free hand to place on Meli's sweaty forehead. "Do we know exactly what's wrong with her?"

The four friends shared a look. "Well, she had some pretty bad injuries..." Goofy began.

"Yeah, but Sora and I healed her," Donald interjected. "So those should be fine now."

"It's food," Kairi spoke up. "That's what she needs. Like I said, we've been together for several weeks now, and she's hardly eaten anything in that whole time. She gave most of her food to me. First, just because she knew I was having to share mine with Pluto. Then it was because she was too sick from...her injuries...to eat. She kept a little for herself, but it was mostly just small pieces of bread, and those would last her two or three days."

Mrs. Yoshida nodded, still focused on Meli, and began opening the drink bottle. "I'll try to get her to take some of this. If we can get enough sugar and calories in her from this, then maybe she'll feel up to eating some breakfast later."

"Speaking of which, breakfast is ready!" Mr. Yoshida announced, stepping into the room. He faltered momentarily when the duck, dog, and mouse turned their heads to look at him, but then smiled cheerily. "Anyone hungry?"

"Yes, sir!" Donald agreed heartily.

"I hate to leave Meli, though..." King Mickey hummed.

"You all are good friends, but you should just leave her to me," Mrs. Yoshida countered. "Go on and eat while it's hot."

"That goes for you, too, Kairi!" the King called back to her when he noticed that she had lingered in the room.

Kairi sighed, giving one last glance back at Meli's unconscious form. "Yes, Your Majesty."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Enamis09: **Yeah, I figure that since the Yoshidas adopted a little girl who washed up on the beach, and have had Sora and Riku hanging around their house ever since then causing who knows what kind of trouble, they're probably used to just taking everything in stride. ;)

**coolmegan123: ** Ooh, that's actually something that I haven't really thought about yet. Good request! Since we're already past that point chronologically, I'll come back around to it in a few weeks after I've finished the others.

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_This is part 2 of the return home, starting immediately after the last one ended. This one mostly covers things that were included in the original story, but adds in a few more details. Originally, it actually had even more extra details in it, but some of them I liked so much that I went back and added them into the story (the part about her getting scared of Kairi's dad, for instance)._

_ On that note, I would definitely recommend this method for those of you who are writers! If you get stuck on your story, or just want a fresh outlook on it while editing, try writing things from another character's perspective and see what happens!_

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**Chapter 52 Remix**

** (Runs parallel to chapter 52)**

** Mrs. Yoshida's Perspective**

Mrs. Yoshida studied the girl on her sofa with pity. She was young, probably not any older than Kairi, but there was something about her that gave the impression she had seen more than her fair share of sorrow. Perhaps it was the pained expression that was etched onto her face, even while unconscious. The state she was currently in certainly didn't help. Of course Mrs. Yoshida didn't know what she normally looked like while healthy, but even so she could tell that her cheekbones and collarbone were protruding just a bit too much. Kairi and her friends had been cryptic when mentioning the girl's injuries, so Mrs. Yoshida didn't want to press. She had to wonder, though, what she might have been through. Without knowing a thing about this girl, her heart ached for her.

Using her finger to trap some of the drink in the straw, Mrs. Yoshida inserted the other end of the straw in between Meli's lips and released the liquid into her mouth. After a few minutes of waiting and repeating this process, a bit of color started returning to her lips, and her eyelids began to flutter. Then they slowly opened wide, revealing sapphire blue irises just like Kairi's. She sucked in an audible breath as her eyes darted around the room, trying to place her surroundings.

"It's alright, sweetie," Mrs. Yoshida soothed. "I'm Kairi's mom. You're at my house."

Meli swallowed. "What...happened?" she whispered hoarsely.

"You fainted, and your friends brought you here." Mrs. Yoshida held the straw out towards Meli's lips again. "Here, take a drink. This should help perk you up a little. Then we'll get you to the table and get you some real food."

Obligingly taking a sip, Meli glanced around the room again. "Where's Kairi?"

"Just in the next room, along with your other friends. They're eating some breakfast. Drink some more." The next several minutes were spent mostly in silence, as Meli sipped on the drink and gathered some strength.

"Do you think you could sit up now?" Mrs. Yoshida asked eventually. Meli nodded, and Mrs. Yoshida set the bottle down and stood so that she could help pull her up. "Take it slowly, sweetie. Don't push yourself."

Mr. Yoshida's voice came from the doorway. "Do you need anything, hon? Oh, she's up! Good."

Turning to face her husband, Mrs. Yoshida smiled softly. "I think we're about ready to move into the dining room. She's going to need some help, though."

"Well, I could carry her in there..." Mr. Yoshida began, walking further into the room, but he stopped short and nodded towards Meli with a look of concern on his face.

Mrs. Yoshida spun back around to find that the girl had curled herself into a ball as far back into the couch cushions as she could get, wild-eyed and trembling. Glancing back and forth between her husband and Meli, Mrs. Yoshida dropped quickly back down to her knees and placed a gentle hand on Meli's arm. The girl jolted at the touch.

"It's okay, sweetie. This is Kairi's dad. He's not going to hurt you."

"I'll go get Goofy," Mr. Yoshida offered. "She'll feel more comfortable with someone she knows."

Meli stopped shaking as soon as he had left the room, and when the tall, lanky, dog-like creature walked in a moment later, she relaxed even more. "Hiya, Mel," Goofy greeted her. "Glad to see you're awake. We've been eatin' breakfast, and it was real good, a-hyuck."

"No, no...you don't need to carry me," Meli mumbled as Goofy came closer. "I don't want you to..."

Her friend completely ignored her protests, scooping her up in his arms like it was nothing while continuing his chatter. "Mr. Yoshida's makin' a plate for ya. Come on, let's go see everybody."

Everyone had nearly finished their meal already when they entered the dining room. "Meli!" Kairi exclaimed brightly, obviously feeling more chipper after having some food. "Here, I saved you a seat next to me." She patted on the chair, and Goofy set Meli gently down onto it. Meli managed a small smile in Kairi's direction, then cut her eyes warily over to Mr. Yoshida as he walked in from the kitchen with two more plates of food.

Seeing this, Mrs. Yoshida took one of the plates from his hand, and crossed to set it in front of Meli. At the sight of the bacon, eggs, and pancakes, tears began to roll down her cheeks. "What is it, sweetie? What's the matter?" Mrs. Yoshida asked, bending down to look her in the face.

"Nothing." Meli shook her head, lifting a hand to wipe away the tears. "I'm sorry. Thank you."

Sighing with worry, Mrs. Yoshida took her own seat and smiled a thank you at her husband for the food he had set there. The four friends resumed their conversation about the Islands, but she kept her focus on the girl across the table from her. Meli's hands were shaking slightly, but she managed to stab and eat a bite of egg, chewing slowly and pausing to let it settle before going for the next bite. She only managed to repeat the process a few times, however, before she began crying again.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Yoshida asked her.

Meli dropped the fork down onto the plate and pulled her hand back into her lap. "I'm sorry. I...don't think I can eat anymore."

"That's okay," Kairi assured her. "I couldn't eat all of mine, either." Mrs. Yoshida glanced over at her daughter's plate and smiled slightly when she saw that she had eaten all but one pancake.

"I'd say it's perfectly normal for you to not feel like eatin' much to start with," remarked the mouse from the end of the table.

Mrs. Yoshida nodded. "And don't worry, you're not hurting our feelings a bit. There will be plenty of time for you to eat more later. Right now, I think you just need some rest." She pushed her chair back from the table and looked to Goofy. "It's...Goofy, right? Would you mind bringing her upstairs?"

Meli began to protest again, but no one was listening to her. Goofy happily followed orders, carrying her up the staircase behind Mrs. Yoshida and setting her on the edge of the bed in the guest room that was indicated. Mrs. Yoshida went into Kairi's bedroom next door, digging a pair of pajamas out of the top drawer of her dresser. She knew her daughter wouldn't mind sharing, and the two girls were practically the same size. When she came back to the guest room, Goofy gave Meli an affectionate pat on the head, then took his leave.

"Here, you can put these on if you'd like. They'll be much more comfortable to rest in." Mrs. Yoshida placed the folded pajamas on the bed next to Meli. The girl nodded wearily, but made no move to begin undressing. "Would you...like some help taking off your shoes?"

Meli hesitated, staring down at the dusty black boots. "Yes, please," she whispered finally.

Smiling, Mrs. Yoshida stooped down and began untying the laces. "I bet it will feel good to have these off," she commented, trying to set Meli at ease. When she had removed the boots and set them to the side, she stood again. "Now, would you like me to give you some privacy, or do you need some help with the rest of it?" She didn't want to overstep her boundaries, but at this point it looked like Meli was barely capable of remaining upright, much less dressing herself.

"I don't...know if I...can." Meli sounded like she was on the verge of tears again.

"Well, then, I'm happy to help." Mrs. Yoshida began with the choker, unclasping it and setting it on the nightstand, then slid the vest off of Meli's limp arms. Tears were indeed sliding down her cheeks now, though whether from embarrassment or exhaustion it was impossible to tell.

Grasping the hem of Meli's shirt, Mrs. Yoshida pulled it carefully up over her head, then took a sudden step back and had to swallow a gasp. Strange, purplish-brown marks were covering Meli's body, clustered like a spiderweb all over her stomach, in particular, but also crawling up her rib cage on every side, and all the way up to her neck and shoulders in the back. Meli seemed to be too out of it to have noticed Mrs. Yoshida's reaction, so she swallowed hard and tried to regain her composure.

"Are you cold, sweetie?" she asked, noticing Meli shivering, glad that she had grabbed a long sleeve shirt.

"I'm...always cold...lately," Meli replied.

Mrs. Yoshida smiled sympathetically as she slipped the pajama shirt over Meli's head. "That's probably because you don't have any fat left on your body to keep you warm."

She finished changing her clothes as quickly as possible, not able to help but notice that the marks spread down to her thighs, too. What had this poor girl been through? As she carefully laid her back onto the pillow and pulled the covers up over her, she felt of her forehead one more time. It was a bit warmer than before, and Mrs. Yoshida wondered if these shivers could be partially from a fever developing. With the lack of nutrition, it was almost surprising that her immune system hadn't failed her before now.

"It's gonna be alright, sweetie. You can stay here as long as you need to, and we'll get you feeling all better."

Exiting the room quietly, Mrs. Yoshida met Kairi out in the hallway and held up her finger to her lips, gesturing towards Kairi's bedroom. Once inside, she embraced her daughter, relishing having her in her arms again.

"How is she?" Kairi asked, looking up into her mom's face.

"It's hard to say for sure," Mrs. Yoshida sighed. "It will probably be touch and go for a few days. I think she may be getting a fever, and will probably just want to sleep, but we're going to have to wake her up often to make sure she keeps drinking and eating, even if it's only a few bites at a time."

"I'll help with anything I can. I really appreciate you taking her in like this."

"Of course. You know we wouldn't ever turn away someone in need, especially a friend of yours who has done so much for you." Mrs. Yoshida stepped over to sit on the bed, pulling Kairi by the hand to sit with her. "Have you seen...the marks on her torso? Do you know what they're from?"

Kairi dropped her gaze to her lap and nodded. "Yeah. Those are...from the injuries that we mentioned."

Mrs. Yoshida pressed her lips together, not wanting to pry, but feeling like she needed to know in order to fully take care of Meli. "Can you tell me what happened? What...they did to her?"

"I really...don't know very much, actually," Kairi began, tears welling up in her eyes. "She would never tell me. They would just...take her out of her cell, for a few hours at a time, and every time she came back she'd look worse. Just...worn out, sick. I didn't know they were hurting her, though. I knew she had a Keyblade, so I just figured they were making her fight for them or something. I guess I should have known that they'd have to hurt her to make her do anything for them, though."

She took a shuddering breath. "Anyway, I still don't know what was going on then, for sure. All I know is, in the end, Saix – that's one of the guys that kidnapped us both – made her watch while he fought Sora, Donald, and Goofy. After they won, and he was gone...that's when we finally found out about the band. It was this...thing, around her waist." Kairi waved her hands around her own body. "And it was...Riku said he thought it was using both electricity and some kind of dark magic. I guess Saix must have been able to turn it on and off whenever he wanted. But at that point, he had left it on so that it would shock her every time she moved." Tears spilled over anew, and she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, Mom, it was awful. I'll never forget that look on her face. She was so scared, and in so much pain." Kairi wiped her face off. "But thankfully, Riku was able to use his Keyblade to get that thing off of her, and Sora and Donald used magic to heal her. So...I don't think you really have to worry about those marks anymore. At least...not physically. They're just scars now."

Mrs. Yoshida reached out for her daughter, pulling her in close again and kissing the top of her head. A pit had been growing in her stomach throughout Kairi's story. As much as she ached for the stranger lying in the next room, she also couldn't help but be grateful that her own child had been spared.

"She doesn't even have a family," Kairi murmured. "She's got no one, just like me when I first got here."

"That's not true." Mrs. Yoshida pulled away and looked Kairi in the face, her hands grasping her arms. "She has you, and the others downstairs. And she'll have Sora and Riku, when they get back. I'm assuming they're friends with her, too."

A smile played on the corners of Kairi's mouth. "More than just friends, when it comes to Riku."

Mrs. Yoshida's eyebrows went up, and she laughed a little. "Oh, really? Well then, there you go. She has all of you, and now she has Dad and me, too. Just like you did."

Kairi smiled now for real. "Thanks, Mom. That means a lot to me, and I know it will to Meli, too."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	11. Chapter 11

** Enamis09: **Oh, yeah, I had actually thought about writing a oneshot like that, but had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder! I've got a few more requests lined up that I'll have to get to first, but I'll come back around to that one. Hope your exams are going well!

**Coolmegan123: **Yes, I'm sure it was jarring, even if she didn't realize yet how alike she and Kairi were. I know as a mother, myself, that it's super easy to empathize when children are involved. Thanks for the compliments!

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_Get ready for all the fluff! Of course, this is me, so I had to include a little angst, too, but this chapter is mostly just full-on fluff. I think I decided to write this one because I started thinking about what exactly would have happened after everyone left the beach at the end of the story. Inferno's Edge picks up a bit further down the road from the end of Sorrow's Promise, so there are a few relationship moments that we miss, and I wanted to touch on those._

_ This chapter takes place right after the end of the story, when they are on their way home that night._

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** Chapter 54.5**

** (Falls after chapter 54)**

** Meli's Perspective**

Destiny Islands didn't really believe in street lamps, but the moon was full and lit up the road before us just enough. Everything was quiet. It felt as if the elements of the world had breathed a collective sigh at the return of their resident heroes, and now could rest at ease. Or maybe that was just me. My heart was at peace for the first time that I could remember, my body full to the brim with happiness.

Glancing up at Riku beside me, I couldn't help but smile. He was home, and he was...mine. A blush crept over my cheeks at the thought. I didn't even know what that meant, for sure. Only that it was nice, to know that we felt the same way about each other, that I was finally free to let my fears go and just love with no inhibitions, that I could have him by my side whenever I wanted and experience more of the blissful affection that we had shared on the beach.

As if reading my mind, Riku looked down at me with a soft smile. "It's so surreal...being back here after so long...having you with me. I'm a bit afraid that I'm gonna wake up any minute and find out it's all a dream."

My lips quirked upward. "Nah, we determined a long time ago that this was all my dream, remember?"

Riku laughed, and my heart fluttered in my chest. "Oh right, I had almost forgotten. You were so determined that I was a figment of your imagination."

"Oh yeah, you definitely are. There's no way that me being with a guy like you could be real."

Halting suddenly, Riku swung around to face me, sending tingles all over my body as he pulled it up against his. "Don't you start with that again," he warned, expression stern. "We've had this conversation before, remember?"

I let out a giggle. "Yeah, I know. I'm just kidding. I just wanted to see your sexy lecture face."

His eyebrows flew up. "Sexy, huh?"

The blush on my face returned with full force. "Um...maybe..." I hadn't actually meant to say that part aloud, but it was kind of fun to be able to without worrying about what anybody would think.

Riku's mouth twisted to the side in thought, and I stared at his lips, running my tongue over mine unconsciously as I remembered how he had tasted earlier. "So, is that why you seem to like to rile me up so often? Because you think I'm sexy when I'm lecturing you?"

"Uh..." It wasn't true, I was just hard to get along with, but the thought was funny enough to make me fight back a smile and play along. "Maybe..."

I could see him battling against his own smile, trying to keep his "sexy lecture face" on, but it was a battle he soon lost. He laughed aloud again, then moved his arms up to wrap around my shoulders. "Come here, you. I'm gonna really give you a lecture."

His mouth devoured mine, and I thought my knees might give out. Why had I let it take me so long to say yes to this? This was heaven. I didn't think I would ever get used to life being this wonderful, nor did I want to.

Our lips eventually parted, slowly and a bit reluctantly. His eyes smiled down into mine as I breathed a contented sigh. "I guess..." Riku pulled his gaze away and glanced over to the side. "I guess that I should go in at some point soon."

Surprised, I followed his gaze. We were standing right in front of a modest sized, one-story house. The small front porch and yard were unadorned, void of any signs of people living there, but a light was on inside a front room. "This is your house?"

"Yep." He did not sound at all enthused about the fact.

I pushed back away from him and waved my hand towards the house. "Well what are you waiting out here for, then? Go see your mom!"

Riku raised an eyebrow mischievously at me and started to step in closer. "I think you know why I was waiting out here."

"Nope." I stopped him with a finger on his chest. "You're just using me as an excuse to put off what you know you need to do."

"Now who's got on their sexy lecture face?"

Planting my hands on my hips, I scowled at him. "Shut up and get going."

"Okay, fine." Riku cupped my cheeks in his hands. "Are you going to wait for me?"

I hadn't expected him to ask, but didn't mind the thought at all. "Do you want me to?"

"Mm-hmm." He bent down to press another kiss onto my forehead. "If you don't mind. I promise I won't make you wait long."

"Okay." I gave him an encouraging smile as he stepped away and headed up onto the porch and through the unlocked front door. Locking doors wasn't really a Destiny Islands thing, either, kind of like street lights. Once he had disappeared inside, I trailed after him, taking a seat on the porch step. The stars seemed especially bright tonight. At least now I could enjoy looking at them, instead of worrying about whether Riku and Sora were alive to see them.

He was alive, and he was home. His mother was going to be ecstatic to see him...or at least I hoped she would. I knew they weren't super close, but surely after having no idea where her only son was for two years or more, she would give him the welcome that I was sure he needed from her. Hopefully there wouldn't be much fussing at him for leaving, either. He had enough guilt as it was.

The minutes ticked by slowly, mostly because I had no idea what was happening inside. Finally, light spilled out onto the ground around me as the door opened, and I twisted around to see Riku. He looked drained, but he was smiling and beckoning me with his hand.

"Come here. I want you to meet my mom."

My eyes widened. "What? Now?" I guess I had assumed that I would meet her eventually, but I never would have thought it would be this soon. I rose to my feet, but wavered uncertainly on the step.

"Yeah, if that's okay with you." He reached for my hand, and pulled me towards the door. "Don't worry, she doesn't bite."

The living room, much like the outside of the house, was pristine, and lacking in personal touches. There were no family photos, no trinkets sitting on the bookshelf. It was comfortable, though, with plenty of seating. Riku's mom rose from the chair where she had been sitting when we entered the house, her hands folded daintily in front of her.

"Meli, this is my mom. Uh, I guess you can call her Mrs. Tanaka."

I hadn't even realized before that moment that I didn't actually know Riku's last name. Mrs. Tanaka was only slightly taller than I was, much smaller than her towering son. Her hair was dark blonde, and her eyes were a darker color as well, leading me to believe that Riku must have gotten most of his appearance from his father. Her eyes were also currently puffy, so I assumed that she had been crying.

"Mom, this is Meli. She's..." He turned his gaze to me, pressing his lips together. "Well, we haven't actually technically decided what we are yet, I don't guess. But...she's very special to me." His warm smile made my heart speed up.

"I'm good with whatever you want to call me," I murmured in return.

Riku's smile broadened. "Okay, then. Mom, this is my girlfriend, Meli."

Girlfriend. I thought my heart might explode out of my chest, and had to fight hard to keep from having a huge, goofy grin on my face as I turned back to Mrs. Tanaka. "Hi," I squeaked.

The creases around her eyes deepened as she smiled back at me. "Hello, Meli. It's very nice to meet you."

"We've known each other for several months now, but the whole...relationship thing is new," Riku explained. "She definitely played a big part in getting me back home."

"Well, then I am very grateful."

"He helped me a lot more than I helped him," I mumbled, ducking my head sheepishly.

Riku wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "Let's just call it even." He pressed his lips onto my temple. "Want me to walk you...wait, you do have somewhere you're staying, right?"

"Yeah, at Kairi's."

He smiled. "Good. I'll walk you up there."

A flash of an emotion crossed Mrs. Tanaka's face. Riku must have seen it, too, because he released me and crossed to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'll be back within the hour, 'kay Mom? No more disappearing, I promise."

She nodded, renewed tears glistening in her eyes, and he kissed the top of her head. "Goodbye, Meli. I hope you'll come by again soon."

I smiled and gave an awkward wave. "Thanks. Bye."

We didn't say anything to begin with as we walked back out to the road and started towards the mayor's house. I caught Riku staring at the house next door to his as we passed by. "Is that Sora's house?"

"Hmm?" He glanced down at me. "Oh. Yeah. He was pretty nervous about seeing his parents again."

I squeezed his hand. "So were you. But it all turned out okay...right?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. It did."

Furrowing my eyebrows, I studied his profile in the moonlight. "Your mom...was she...?"

"Mostly just relieved," he answered before I could fully form the question. "Like Kairi said she'd be. I just..." He heaved a sigh, running his free hand down his face. "I feel really bad for all the worry and sadness I caused her. I could have come back at any time and let her know I was okay. I was just..."

"You were dealing with a lot of stuff," I finished for him. "Was it a mistake to not come back? I don't know, maybe. But you can't keep blaming yourself for everything. You were trying to do what was right for everybody all at once."

"But somehow my mom didn't make it onto that list."

"I'm sure she's forgiven you already," I assured him, my heart aching for his sadness. "She's your mom, after all. Now you're gonna have to forgive yourself."

One corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile, but he didn't reply. We walked in silence for another minute before he spoke up again. "I just...I didn't want her to see me like that, you know? I was so messed up with darkness, then with hiding from the darkness, then practically becoming the darkness... As much as I hate that I made her wait this long, I'm glad it's this me that she's seeing now."

"Yeah," I answered softly. "I get it."

Nothing much else was said until we reached the front porch of the Yoshida's home. "You coming in?" I asked, turning to face him.

"Not this time. I'd better get back home." He smiled and ran a hand through the long side of my hair. "I'll see you tomorrow, though, okay?" Leaning in, he kissed me – not the same drawn out, steamy kiss from earlier, but still sweet and sending thrills down to my toes.

"Okay...Boyfriend," I replied with a gleam in my eye.

The grin on his face matched the exuberance in my heart. "Okay, Girlfriend."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	12. Chapter 12

** Enamis09: **There are some guys out there that treat girls like Riku does. Don't give up until you find one! :) Hope the rest of your exams went well!

**Angie-ange: **Good request! I'll be posting requests starting next week, so look for yours in a few weeks.

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**A/N: **I'm over halfway through the second draft of Inferno's Edge. However, I've already decided that when this is done, I'm gonna need to take a little break from it, then go back and edit some more! Maybe not an entire third draft, but there's definitely some more details I want to try to add here and there. I haven't been able to devote quite as much time to writing lately because I've been sewing like crazy...the local ComiCon that we attend every year is coming up in two and a half weeks, and I've got a massive cosplay to finish before then haha. But I hope that I'll have this sequel ready to go by maybe the end of July!

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_More fun and fluff this week – though this time it's fluff of the family variety. I actually originally planned on posting this with the sequel, because this moment is briefly referenced in that story. That's why you'll see a little change in formatting in the form of italics in this chapter – that's a change that I've made in the sequel, as well, putting some thoughts in italics. Anyway, I decided in the end that this fit in better with the last few oneshots that I've posted, and since there are no spoilers in it, it made more sense to post it now instead of waiting._

_ This chapter takes place one month after the ending of Sorrow's Promise._

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** Bonus Chapter 1**

** Meli's Perspective**

"Okay, everybody, time to eat!" Mr. Yoshida called down the stairs.

That's all it took for the boys to completely abandon their super competitive game of pool and pound up the basement stairs at lightning speed. Kairi and I exchanged smiles and rolled eyes, following at a much calmer pace.

"Boys and their food."

She laughed. "I know, right? As much as I love those two, it sure is nice to have you around to balance out their testosterone a little these days."

A minute later, we were all settling around the Yoshidas dining room table for dinner, Riku and Sora not hesitating to pile the food high on their plates. "You'd think they had just fought Xemnas today, not a month ago," I quipped.

"Hey, going to school and doing homework takes a lot out of a guy," Sora protested before shoveling a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

"And playing pool," Riku added with a smirk.

"Uh-huh, dat too," Sora agreed with his mouth full.

Mrs. Yoshida, sitting directly across from me, clasped her hands together in front of her, watching all of us with a sparkle in her eyes. "Well, it may have been a month ago, but it still makes me so incredibly happy to have you all back around my table again. Plus one very special addition, of course."

I ducked my head to hide my blush, twirling my fork around in my pasta. After a moment, though, I felt like she was still watching me, and I lifted my face slightly. She was, indeed, still staring, a strange look on her face.

"Mom? Everything okay?" Kairi asked.

Mrs. Yoshida shook her head as if waking from a trance. "Oh. Yes. Sorry, I just...it's strange. You two..." She cut her eyes back and forth between me and Kairi, who was sitting right next to me. "I never noticed it to start with, but I've started seeing lately...you look...startlingly similar."

Kairi immediately turned to look at me with raised eyebrows, but I tilted my face in the other direction, rubbing a hand up and down my cheek to block her view. "Oh, uh...really? I...never noticed," I stammered.

Nodding, Mrs. Yoshida leaned forward as if to get a closer look. "Yes, well I did notice the eyes right off the bat. Maybe it was because you were so thin when you first arrived, Meli, that the other similarities didn't stand out to me. But now...your facial features are nearly identical, not to mention your body types." Leaning back again, she glanced around at the others. "Doesn't anyone else see it?"

Finally getting tired of me hiding, Kairi pulled my hand down from my face and grabbed my chin, turning my head towards her. "Well, I always did say that we looked a bit alike, but I never thought of it being identical." She beamed. "Maybe we really are long lost sisters, like I said before! Twins, even!"

I laughed nervously. The others were talking quietly among themselves, but Riku's eyes caught mine from the end of the table.

He raised one eyebrow. _You haven't told them yet?_

I cut my eyes away, pressing my lips together. _No..._

His other eyebrow went up to meet the first. _Don't you think you ought to?_

I gave him somewhere between a smile and a grimace. _Probably, but...how...?_

His face dropped into an expression of amused scolding. _Come on, Meli. You can't keep it a secret forever._

I rolled my eyes and sighed. _I know._

"Okay, what was...that?" Kairi furrowed her brow, pointing to first me, then Riku. Apparently she had been watching our silent conversation. "You guys know that was so not subtle, right? I know you two know something, so spill."

Whimpering, I slid down in my seat so that only my eyes and the top of my head were visible above the table. Riku laughed. "Come on, Meli. You're acting like it's embarrassing or something. Just tell them."

I shook my head vigorously in reply.

"It's not embarrassing, it's just...weird."

"Not helping!" I shot a glare at him.

"Okay, fine. I'll tell them." He leaned onto his elbows on the table. "Meli is from a parallel universe."

Sora paused mid-chew and stared, then swallowed his food. "You mean like, from another world, right? 'Cause we already knew that."

"No, dude, I literally mean from a parallel universe." Riku launched into an explanation that was, in his own words, basically what DiZ had told us when I had first arrived. How universes split off from each other, the infinite possibilities that existed, the fact that only a handful of people could travel between them. I inched myself back up in my chair as he spoke, keeping my focus mainly on my food, but sneaking peeks at everyone's faces periodically.

"So what you're saying is, there's an infinite number of all of us out there somewhere, each leading completely different lives," Mr. Yoshida clarified as the story concluded.

Riku nodded. "Basically, yeah. Though the lives may or may not be all that different, depending on what changes were made in that universe's history."

Everyone seemed to be taking this information in and digesting it. Kairi, however, was quick on the uptake. She rotated quickly to face me, a look of concentration in her eyes. "You're...you're me, aren't you?"

A deafening silence fell as everyone ceased eating to listen. I swallowed hard, my eyes darting up to Riku, then back to my plate. Were they going to completely freak? Would they kick me out? It didn't really matter now. I couldn't just lie to her face. "Um...as far as we can tell...yeah."

Someone choked on their food, and a fork clattered loudly onto a plate. I jumped, rubbing my hand up and down my arm nervously. "That, um...that would explain, you know...why we look alike..." I hastened to continue.

"And why our backgrounds are so similar," Kairi finished with a smile of realization. "Neither of us remember before a certain age..."

"The same exact age," Riku pointed out.

Kairi nodded thoughtfully. "You just...never got adopted."

I bit down on my lip and nodded. "Right."

Sora finally spoke up again. "But you have purple hair."

I cracked a small smile. "You thought that was natural?" I indicated Kairi's hair with my thumb. "My natural color is...that."

He shook his head. "So wait...isn't there like...shouldn't you be, like, causing some kind of rift in time and space right now? Isn't there some kind of law against two Kairis..." He looked back and forth between us. "Or...two Melis...whoever you are, two of you existing in the same room at the same time?"

I shrugged lightly. "Hasn't been a problem so far."

Riku cleared his throat. "Also, as more proof that they're the same person...Meli knew versions of me and you back in her universe."

Sora's jaw dropped open. "Really? That's so freaky! Is that me just as cool as the real me?"

"Well you're both plenty real," I smirked, picturing Zephyr's goofy grin. "And...let's go with he's just as dorky as you are."

Before Sora could protest my answer, Kairi gasped and planted her palm on the table. "Is that why Aiden looked so much like Axel?"

Sighing, I rubbed my face vigorously with both hands. "Maybe..." I did not expect that subject to come up quite so quickly.

"You dated Axel?" Sora cried, his nose scrunched up in disgust.

"No, I dated..." I dropped my forehead onto the table with a groan. "Can we please not talk about them right now?"

"Well, this is all...very...unexpected, and interesting."

I lifted my head slowly to look at Mrs. Yoshida, not sure what kind of expression I expected to see. When she caught my eye, she smiled. "You always did seem very...familiar to me. On the other hand, though, you and Kairi are so different in many ways."

Wetting my lips, I stared down at my hands in my lap. "You're not...are you...mad? That I didn't tell you right away?"

"Of course not!" Mr. Yoshida chimed in. "I would imagine that this is a secret you're used to keeping from everyone."

I glanced up at him and nodded once. "I was afraid you'd be really freaked out by it. I wouldn't blame you."

"It is definitely very surprising, and a lot to think about," Mrs. Yoshida replied.

Pressing my lips together, I inhaled sharply before blurting out my true fear. "If you don't want me to stay, then...I won't. If it freaks you out for me to be here, then just...just let me know, and...like I said, I won't blame you."

Immediately Kairi's arms were wrapped around my shoulders, and she pressed her cheek up against mine. I tensed slightly, still not used to all the physical affection she bestowed. "You poor thing, is that what you were worried about?"

"We're not going to kick you out, sweetie." Mrs. Yoshida leaned forward, an earnest look in her brown eyes. "We've told you before that we want you to stay as long as you want to, and that's not going to change just because of a little thing like this."

Mr. Yoshida was nodding fervently. "That's right."

"I don't care who you are, I'm still gonna keep pretending that you're my sister," Kairi giggled, giving me another squeeze. "That's what you feel like to me!"

Tears stung my eyes, and I dashed at them with the back of my hand. This feeling of warmth inside of me...it wasn't just from Kairi's ongoing hug. It was something much stronger, something that I hadn't felt a lot of in my lifetime. Acceptance. I met Mrs. Yoshida's eyes again and smiled. "Thank you."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Enamis09: **Those are some pretty good guesses! I won't say much so as not to spoil anything, I'll just say...you're not entirely right, but you're not entirely wrong, either. :)

**xOneSkyx: **Well, I've heard it said (paraphrased) that the first draft is for making your story exist, the second draft is for making it work, and the third draft is for making it great. So as long as you get SOMETHING down on paper to start with, it doesn't matter how much of a jumbled mess it is. All you need is something to work with for future drafts! Good luck with yours, and thanks for the review!

**Coolmegan123: **I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter so much! I liked that one, too.

Oooh I wanna see your cosplays! I made 3 KH2/FF cosplays a couple of years ago, and yeah...KH costumes are complicated. So many pieces! The big one that I'm working on this year is the most difficult I've made so far. It's live-action Cinderella's ball gown, for my sister.

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_Today starts all of the requests that I have received (besides the couple that I stuck in so they'd be in chronological order)! First up, a request from _**SquidbaggerofWoomyandNgyesness**. _They wanted me to write a oneshot that included their OC, Xolette. I have to admit, I struggled with this one a bit, since I haven't read the entirety of Xolette's story, and also because the two timelines don't perfectly line up. So this may be...a little weird? But hopefully they'll still enjoy it._

_ All of the other oneshots in this series are canon. However, this one should be considered an AU. The events in this chapter will not be taken into account in the sequel. Theoretically, though, this takes place sometime after the end of Sorrow's Promise and before Inferno's Edge begins._

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**AU Chapter**

** Meli's Perspective**

I was bored. Everybody was at school, leaving me at the house by myself. I had finished the latest book that I had borrowed from Mr. Yoshida's library, and there was nothing decent on tv. This whole recovery process had been going on for quite some time now, and though I was grateful for the rest, I was starting to lose my mind from the boredom.

Glancing at the clock by the bed, I heaved a sigh. Still another hour until Mrs. Yoshida would be home from work. At least then I'd have someone to talk to. In the meantime, though, I really didn't want to spend that much time just lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.

Pushing myself up onto my elbows, I studied the mirror hanging on the wall across from me carefully, an idea forming in my mind. It had been a really long time since I had been back to my universe. Well, actually it really hadn't been nearly long enough, but I wasn't going to think about those times, the times that I had been forced into going. It had been a long time since I had been there just for the fun of it, just to see the sights.

I hopped up off the bed and crossed to the mirror. Yeah, maybe I would go for a quick trip somewhere. Just long enough to kill some time before Mrs. Yoshida got home, then I'd make another portal back... That plan screeched to a halt as I realized I no longer had my pocket mirror. I shuddered at even the thought of the thing. I'd need some way to get home, though, so I ran out to the bathroom I shared with Kairi and found her compact, shoving it into my jeans pocket.

Now the question was, where should I go? My palms rested against the cool glass as I ran through the possibilities in my mind. For some reason, though, I kept getting distracted with memories of the first portals I had made, back in the mansion. Back in Twilight Town...

To my surprise, a portal suddenly opened beneath my hands. I jumped back, frowning at it, wondering where it could possibly be leading to. The last place I had been thinking of was Twilight Town, but that was clearly not part of my universe. I stepped toward the portal, uncertain. Should I go through? Double checking to make sure my way back was still safe in my pocket, I made up my mind and stepped inside.

The place where I found myself had clearly been a town at some point, but all that remained of it now was a blackened mess of half-standing buildings and charred stone streets. The sky above was completely dark, and there was not a sound to be heard, not even a whisper of wind. I wrapped my arms around myself as a shiver ran up my spine.

"Where am I?" I muttered under my breath.

Cautiously, I started down the street, picking my way around fallen street lamps and broken glass from windows. It wasn't until I noticed a familiar, unlit sign still hanging amidst the rubble that it finally dawned on me where I was.

"That's...that's the cafe!" I gasped. The very same cafe where I had spent many hours sipping tea and hanging out with Roxas. "But...how...?"

I spun around in a slow circle, taking in the damage with new eyes. This couldn't be our Twilight Town. I would have heard if something like this had happened to our Twilight Town...right? Besides, I had gone through a portal. Portals led between parallel universes. So, could this be a Twilight Town from yet another universe?

Breaking into a sprint, I made a beeline up the hill to the clock tower. It was one of the few things still standing, though the base of it showed fire damage. I craned my neck back to stare up at the top, my mind still reeling with the implications of what I had walked into.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

The sudden break in the silence made me jump, and I spun around to see who the other living soul could possibly be. It was a girl, around my age, with choppy white hair and yellow eyes. The combination of those two colors immediately set me on edge, and I took a step back.

Her expression quickly changed from stony to surprised, then to confused as she tilted her head to one side. "Kairi?"

"Um, no. I'm..." I wasn't sure what information I should trust this girl with. "Who are you?"

She studied me with one eyebrow slightly raised before answering. "Xolette."

The name, combined with her appearance, rang some kind of bell in my brain. "Xolette? Wait..." I furrowed my brow, trying to remember. That girl, from Twilight Town...one of the kids that had seen Sora off at the train station... "Olette! Are you...?" The pieces finally fell together. "You're her Nobody, aren't you?"

Xolette did not look happy at having been figured out. "Who are you? I don't remember ever meeting you. How did you get here?"

"Yeah, I...I don't think we ever technically did meet." Since the most likely scenario seemed to be that this was a different universe's Olette. "I'm Meli. I...I got here through a portal." That was all the detail I was going into. Nothing good ever came from Nobodys knowing about my abilities. "I'm a friend of Kairi's."

"You look like her twin."

I merely shrugged the comment away and turned my attention back to the ruins of the city. "What happened to this place?"

Xolette followed my gaze. "Heartless took over a while back. It fell to darkness."

Even though it wasn't my Twilight Town, that still saddened me. "It was such a nice little town. Such nice people living here." Now, I supposed, they were all gone. I wondered briefly what had happened to Olette's other friends, the two boys.

"Yeah. It was." Her voice sounded almost wistful, and there was a faraway look in her golden eyes for a moment before her expression hardened again and she turned back to me. "You shouldn't be here."

I bit down on the inside of my lip. "Yeah, I know. I'm, uh...I was just about to leave." I gestured back down the road the way I had come. Before I turned to go, however, I took another good look at her. Somehow, despite the fact that she was a Nobody and had no real emotions, she struck me as sad.

"Are you...okay?" I ventured. "Do you...I don't know, need any help or anything?"

Her stoic expression creased into a scowl. "Why would I need your help? Get out of here before I throw you out." With those words, she summoned a weapon to her hand that looked suspiciously like Riku's sword.

"Okay!" I threw my hands up in surrender, really not wanting to get in a fight right then. "No need to get violent. I'm gone."

I trotted down the hill, glancing over my shoulder once to see Xolette still standing at the base of the clock tower, watching me go. When I was positive that I was out of her sight and alone, I used Kairi's compact to create a portal back to my bedroom. The familiar atmosphere made me heave a sigh of relief, but didn't stop me from checking to make sure that all of my own possessions were there, just in case I had ended up in some other universe's version of the Yoshida's house. As soon as I was satisfied with that, I made a dark corridor straight to Twilight Town.

The stores were standing cheerfully, the town square was bustling, the sky was its usual bright, sunset colors. The relief fully flooded through me now. I spent some time wandering around, drinking in the normalcy of it all, before I was ready to head back to Destiny Islands. By the time I arrived, Mrs. Yoshida was downstairs in the kitchen, and I joined her.

"What have you been up to this afternoon, sweetie?" she asked as I got out a bowl and some cereal.

I stopped and stared down into the empty bowl for a moment before looking up at her. "I think I just traveled to another parallel universe...different from mine. And I don't ever want to do it again."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	14. Chapter 14

**SquidBaggerofWoomyandNgyesness: **Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

**Enamis09: **Aw, you're so sweet! I don't know whether I'll ever actually publish a book or not, but if I do I'll let you know! I do think I might try to post some original work (non fanfiction) online at some point (maybe over on Wattpad). Whenever I run out of Kingdom Hearts ideas, that is! :) But anyway...I promise I'm trying to get you the sequel as soon as I possibly can! This week I'm at my parents house sewing like crazy to get ready for ComiCon on Saturday, and next week I'll be getting ready for my daughter's birthday party. After that, it's writing, writing, and more writing!

**RenInWonderlandd: **(did you change your username, or is yours just really similar to someone else's?) I love the idea! I'll have to keep brainstorming on it, because at this point I can't decide if there's a way I could do it well without including spoilers for the sequel. If I can come up with a good way to do it, I definitely will. If not, I will save it for later, okay?

**Coolmegan123: **It might be worth checking out! It may not be as dark as I made it out to be ha. I believe the main story is called something like "Armageddon", and includes several OCs. There are a lot of oneshots that go along with it, also. I actually wasn't able to find the first part of the story, so if you (or anyone else) are interested, you might want to message SquidBaggerofWoomyandNgyesness about it.

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_Request #2 is another from _**Enamis09**_! She wanted to see a scene from Meli's childhood. This was pretty fun to write! You'll get a little bigger glimpse of a couple of characters that have just been mentioned in passing up until now._

_ Obviously, this takes before the beginning of Sorrow's Promise – about four years prior, to be exact._

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**Bonus Chapter 2**

** Meli's Perspective**

The book that I had been burying my nose in was suddenly ripped out of my hands and went flying across the yard. I didn't even have to look up to know who would be glaring down at me, it was always the same boy.

"What do you want, Dustin?" I scowled up at him, trying my best to look tough.

"I wanna know when you're gonna stop being such a baby," he sneered. "Why do you still read that fairy-tale crap? You're what, eleven years old now? Time to grow up."

I pushed myself up off the grass and to my feet. Dustin may have had two years on me, but we were almost exactly the same height, and I used that to my advantage, looking him straight in the eyes. "Just because it's got romance in it doesn't make it a fairy tale. Fairy tales have princesses, and knights in shining armor fighting off monsters and dragons. I'm plenty old enough not to believe in that stuff."

"Oh, yeah? Well you're not old enough not to believe that you've got secret friends who only visit you in your dreams!" This jab came from Miles, Dustin's constant shadow. The two boys fist-bumped like it was the greatest insult ever thought up, despite the fact that I had heard some version of it dozens of times from them over the past year.

I flipped my waist-length auburn ponytail over my shoulder and crossed my arms. "You're just jealous because you're not special enough to have friends like that."

"You're such an idiot." Dustin shoved my shoulders hard, and I stumbled back a few steps. "Only an idiot would believe something so stupid. I thought maybe one of these days we'd knock some sense into you, but it's not working so far."

Miles stepped up beside Dustin with a smirk. "Guess we'll just have to keep trying."

I knew what was coming. Turning, I darted away across the yard, trying to reach the safety of the house before they caught me. Even troublemakers like those two wouldn't dare start a fight inside Ms. Young's house, not unless they were looking to spend the week in their rooms, or miss dinner.

Unfortunately, their legs were just a bit longer than mine. Someone slammed into my back full force, sending me sprawling onto the ground, and I heard a sound like a stick being snapped in two. It took several seconds before the pain hit. I howled, much to the boys' amusement, but their laughter faded into expressions of horror when they rolled me over onto my back and saw me clutching my oddly-bent arm.

A few hours later, I was back from the hospital with a purple cast on my left arm, and a fuming Ms. Young sending me to my room for the evening. I smarted off to her, telling her that I hadn't knocked myself to the ground, and asked shouldn't having a broken arm be punishment enough for getting into a fight, but that only got me a smack on the head and a lecture before I was shut in. In all honesty, I didn't really care about the punishment, other than the dinner I probably wasn't getting. When I was in here, I didn't have to worry about being hassled by the other kids, at least not until the other girl I shared the room with came in for the night.

At school the next day, Zephyr was completely enthralled by the cast. "I always thought it would be so much fun to have all my friends sign a cast," he gushed during recess, poking at the hard surface.

Kaj, sitting nearby, just rolled his eyes. "Zeph, seriously. Broken bones aren't 'fun'. They hurt."

"Have you ever had a broken bone?" I asked the silver-haired boy.

"Yeah, he broke his wrist a few years ago," Zeph answered for him. "Must've been not long before you started school here."

"I fell out of a tree," Kaj supplied quickly.

Zephyr wrinkled his nose. "I thought you told me you fell off your bike."

Kaj froze, then looked away, across the playground. "Oh. Um, yeah. You're right. I was...thinking of something else."

Zeph and I shook off his strange answer almost immediately. Kaj was always getting lost in distant thought, so we were pretty used to it by now. "Anyway," I sighed. "You two are the only friends I have, remember? So I don't know how much fun getting signatures could possibly be."

"Well, then the two of us will just have to decorate the whole thing!" Zeph replied brightly, not at all fazed. He produced a Sharpie out of his shorts pocket that he had likely pilfered from the classroom just for this occasion, and set to work on the cast. After painstakingly scratching out his name in giant block letters, he started on some sort of drawing that I couldn't get a good look at. Several minutes passed before he sat back to admire his handiwork.

"Ta da! What do you think?"

I held my arm up to study it. The profiles of two faces were smiling at each other, one with a long ponytail, and the other with short, messy hair. Above them, a third face wore close-cropped hair and a smirk. "Is that...us?"

"Yep!" Zephyr looked very pleased that I had recognized his masterpiece.

Kaj appeared above us and grabbed onto my hand, narrowing his eyes at the drawing. "Not sure how you figured that out."

"Hey!" Zeph protested.

Snatching the marker out of his hand, Kaj settled down onto the turf in front of me and carefully positioned my arm so that the bottom of it was facing him. "You're hogging the canvas. It's my turn."

Lying in bed that night, I turned my arm all around as gingerly as possible, a smile creeping onto my face. Kaj's signature was simple, just his name in his normal handwriting, but next to it he had sketched a pretty nice picture of a palm tree and some waves. Zeph had taken back over after that, adding a few barely-recognizable doodles of cats and dogs, followed by Kaj drawing the same things just to prove he could do it better. It really wasn't surprising that even my broken arm had turned into a story of competition between those two. They were ridiculous sometimes, but they were my friends, and I was more grateful for them that night than ever.

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Darkenedharmonies: **And you changed it again! Haha. We will definitely get more of Meli hanging out with Kairi and Sora in the sequel, but maybe I could do another oneshot of her traveling with Sora and the gang if you want to see them bonding.

**Enamis09: **Um...how about the Parallel Trio? Glad you liked it. As far as Meli and school goes, you'll have to wait for the sequel to find that out! :) Congratulations on passing your exams! Great job!

**LoZKeybladeMaster: **(Replying to your review on chapter 5) Thanks for joining us over here on FFN! Yep, Saix is pretty much a jerk, you're right.

**Coolmegan123: **Yes, that's who they are! I mentioned Zephyr and Kaj being Sora and Riku's doppelgangers briefly in Sorrow's Promise, but it was way at the beginning. And yeah, the drawing is supposed to be a version of the cave drawing, but with Kaj/Riku added.

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**A/N: **So, ComiCon is over, which means my time is freed up quite a bit. It also means that I can now show off my cosplay, which I think you guys will really want to see! My recently changed profile pic on this site will give you a hint. Check out all the pics at: instagram (dotcom)/ actress4him (or just get on the instagram app and search for actress4him).

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_Today's request comes to us from_ **coolmegan123**_! She wanted to know what the rest of the Organization might have been thinking about Meli's capture. This was actually a lot more difficult than I originally thought it would be, mainly because there were so few Organization members left at that point to include. For the briefest second I got excited because I realized that Axel was still alive, but then of course remembered that he had already defected. It would have been fun to see what he thought about her being captured, since they had actually met. Anyway, then I thought I was going to center most of it around Demyx, since he seemed the most likely to be sympathetic, but realized as I started writing that he wasn't around anymore, either. So yeah, I don't know if this ended up being exactly what she was hoping for, but it was the best I could do__ with the literal four members that were left! Also, I had to throw in a super sneaky moment at the end, so...enjoy!_

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**Chapter 41.5**

** (Falls between chapters 41 and 42)**

** General third person perspective**

The Grey Area had never been a bustling, perky place to be, but these days even at its busiest it was nearly empty and mostly silent. One might could have even called it depressing, if any of the occupants of the castle had been able to feel such an emotion.

"It certainly has been quiet around here since the Nocturne met his demise," Luxord mused, shuffling his ever-present deck of cards. He glanced over at Xaldin, who was on the sofa opposite him with his arms crossed, staring into space. "The Keyblade bearer is picking us all off one by one. Makes you wonder which of us will be next."

Xaldin merely grunted in response. Xigbar, however, strolled into the room with a chuckle. "Aw, don't be so pessimistic, Luxy. You gotta have a little faith in the Superior and his plans."

"Are you saying that Xemnas planned for all the others to die?" Luxord frowned, flicking one card up off the deck to study it. "Or perhaps he plans for all of us to die."

"Careful what you say about the Superior. You wouldn't want to be counted among the traitors to this Organization." This warning came from Saix, who entered with as stoic an expression as ever.

Luxord shrugged casually. "You can't blame a fellow for wondering what our plans actually are."

"To get our hearts back," Saix snipped. "The same goal that we have always had." Crossing his arms, he turned to Xaldin. "Number III, return to Beast's Castle and continue your mission there."

Grunting again, Xaldin opened a corridor and disappeared.

"Number X, you will continue your mission in Port Royal."

With a wave of his hand, Luxord made the deck of cards vanish, then rose to his feet. "But of course." Pausing, he raised a hand to his chin in thought. "Tell me, whatever happened to the second young Keywielder that we were taking turns following for a while? Are either of you still keeping an eye on her?"

Saix returned his gaze steadily for a long moment, as if trying to decide his motives, before responding. "So to speak. The Superior decided that she was useful enough to be brought in."

One of Luxord's eyebrows went up. "She's here?"

"She's in the dungeon with our other guest, and it is my assigned mission to do whatever it takes to make her help us."

It was obvious from the way he lingered that Luxord wanted to ask more questions, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he gave a nod, then disappeared into his own corridor.

"When did that development happen?"

Saix turned to see Xigbar leaning lazily against the wall. "The girl has been my mission for quite some time now, you know that."

"Yeah, I knew you were the only one following her, obviously, after everyone else got taken off that duty," Xigbar answered with a wave of his gloved hand. "I wanna know why she was brought in. What did Xemnas see in her that made her stand out from Sora?"

Saix pressed his lips into a thin line. "Perhaps you should ask the Superior."

Straightening, Xigbar began walking closer with a slow swagger. "Perhaps you should remember that I am your superior. I could ask Xemnas, sure, and he'd tell me. But I'm asking you. Why was little poppet brought in?"

"She has a special ability," Saix finally relented after glaring at his coworker for a moment longer. "She can create portals into parallel universes."

The only sign of any interest from Xigbar was a brief flash in his one golden eye. "Is that so."

"If you want further information about what Xemnas wants with this ability, you'll have to ask him yourself. I'll say no more." Turning on his heel, Saix strode purposefully out of the Grey Area in the direction of the laboratory.

"Oh, I will," Xigbar commented just before the other man was gone. Placing both hands on his hips, he stared at the empty space where he had disappeared, looking deep in thought. "Little poppet, huh?" A smirk played on his lips, and he gave a little nod. "And then there were six."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Coolmegan123:** Glad you liked it and found it intriguing! And yeah, I did cosplay Meli. I may be a dork for cosplaying my own fanfic OC haha, but it was really fun seeing something that I had designed come to life like that.

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_Today's request is another from _**Enamis09**_! This time she asked for a conversation between Riku and Sora about Riku's relationship with Meli. I had actually already thought of doing something like this, but had forgotten about it, so I was glad for the reminder! I decided to place the conversation during the boys' time in the Realm of Darkness after fighting Xemnas. It kinda fills in the gap between Sora trying to figure the two of them out at the castle, and him calling Meli Riku's "girlfriend" when they got back home. Hope you all enjoy!_

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**Chapter 53.5**

** (Falls in between/runs parallel to chapter 53 and 54)**

** Sora's perspective**

Nothingness.

That's all that Sora had been able to see for what seemed like hours. Just empty space, not dark, but not light either, stretching on in front of him for eternity. There was nothing to see, nothing to focus on, nothing to keep his thoughts from wandering back time and again to the wounded friend who was leaning heavily on his shoulders.

He had never seen Riku like this, ever. Riku was always the strong one, the one who very rarely got hurt and could just shake it right off when he did. He never showed weakness if he could help it, even though as his best friend Sora could tell better than anyone else when he was actually hurting. And right now, despite his efforts to keep it all concealed, the slow, limping steps and the frequent little grunts that escaped him told Sora that he was hurting really badly.

Sora pressed his lips together and adjusted his grip on Riku's belt. He wanted to ask if he was okay, but he had already done that several times, and the answer was always the same and was always a lie. He knew better than to think that Riku was going to actually admit to the kind of pain he was in. Instead, his mind grasped for a subject to bring up. Something, anything, to fill the deafening silence and keep his mind occupied.

"So, uh..." Sora cleared his throat. "Since there's not much else to do right now except talk...I'm still waiting to hear about you and Meli." He cringed a little, realizing belatedly that Riku might not feel up to talking. "I mean, if you feel like it, that is."

Riku huffed a quiet laugh, and Sora's heart quickened. That was a good sign, right? If he was still able to laugh, then that meant he must be okay. Riku's laughs weren't often any louder than that, anyway.

"Gosh, I don't...really even know where to start." The older boy's voice was a little strained, huskier than usual, but anything other than the short, one- or two-word answers Sora had been getting out of him so far was encouraging.

"Well, how about at the beginning?" Sora grinned.

That's what Riku did. He explained that Meli had stumbled upon the place where he and DiZ – who was apparently the same person as Ansem the Wise, though Sora was still a bit confused about all of that – had set up their base of operations for spying on the Organization, and how she had not long afterward discovered her ability to wield the Keyblade. He told stories about training her, and traveling to other worlds together, and even, though hesitantly, kissing her for the first time.

"Whoa!" Sora breathed. "So you two are like, together? But she was...you two were...I don't know. It was weird. You acted like you liked each other but maybe kinda didn't at the same time. So I'm confused."

"Patience," Riku replied. "I'll get there."

So Sora listened patiently as Riku explained how she had just gotten out of a bad relationship and wasn't ready for another, but that they had remained good friends for a while after that. There was a lull in the conversation then, and Sora wanted to press for the rest of the story, but he bit his tongue and let Riku take his time.

"Then I went after Roxas," he finally admitted. "I tried to leave her out of it, but she followed me. And when I gave into the darkness and changed into Ansem...he hurt her." Sora felt Riku shake his head. "I hurt her. It may have been him using my body in that moment, but...to her, it was me. And I couldn't really blame her for that. I should never have let it happen."

Riku fell silent again. The sound of their footsteps and Riku's heavy breathing once again filled the still air as Sora struggled to find something to say to that. "Well, it doesn't sound to me like it was your fault." The reply felt lame, even to him. "Did you two talk about it? Make up?"

"She couldn't trust me anymore. She left, and I didn't see her again until you guys were in Port Royal. I had asked her to look out for you when you first woke up, make sure you got to where you needed to go alright, and she did that. I'm not sure how she got convinced to actually join you on your journey, but I was glad to find out that she had. I'm grateful to you for looking out for her."

Sora ignored the last part, his mind having latched onto something at the very beginning. "Wait...you were in Port Royal?"

Riku grunted another laugh. "Briefly, yes. Meli and I talked...or more like, argued...one night on the ship. And then one other time, in Land of Dragons."

"So that was you." Sora stuck his lower lip out. "I was looking for you everywhere, but seems like you knew where I was the whole time."

"I told you, I didn't want you to find me. I didn't want you to see me like that."

"But you let Meli see you," Sora whined.

"She was there when I changed, remember?" Riku sighed. "And I was trying to work things out with her, but she just couldn't forgive me. Not after what she had been through in the past."

Sora wrinkled his nose in thought. "That must be why she stayed behind when we went to the city to warn Shang about the dragon. To talk to you. But then..."

"Then she got kidnapped." Riku sighed again, heavier this time. "If I had just stayed a little longer, made sure she got there safely..."

"If the Organization really wanted her that badly, they would have just waited for the next opportunity. You couldn't have stopped them any more than I could have."

Riku ignored that bit of encouragement. "To answer your earlier question, she eventually did forgive me. She told me that when I saw her in the Castle. But she also said that she still wasn't ready to go any farther than forgiveness. I felt like she was starting to soften towards the end, especially once I was back to looking like myself, and Ansem's appearance wasn't looming between us anymore, reminding her of what happened. I was beginning to think that maybe she really could trust me again, that maybe there was some hope for us."

"So why do you sound so down about that? That's great!" Sora exclaimed. "When we get back home, you two can pick back up where you left off!"

"If we get back home," Riku emphasized. "Look at us, Sora. We're in the middle of nowhere. If I even make it-"

"Don't say that!" Sora scolded, his heart dropping into his stomach.

"And if we can figure out how to get home," Riku continued. "Even then, I don't know. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe she'll never fully be able to trust me again."

He came to a sudden halt, and Sora was forced to a stop beside him. Craning his neck, he looked with concern over at the face that was normally well above his, but was currently hanging down at his level. "Riku? You okay?"

"Yeah. Just need to rest a minute."

His eyes drifted shut, and Sora watched as his chest rose and fell, each breath seeming to take more effort than it should. Sora closed his own eyes and tried once again to summon his magic, but the tingling response was weak, far too weak to be able to cast any kind of spell, much less the kind of healing spell that his friend would need.

"Even if she just wanted to go back to being my friend, that would be alright," Riku spoke up again after a moment. His eyes opened, and he stared off into the nothingness. "I just can't stand the cold shoulder anymore. I could tolerate only being her friend, if that's all she wants."

Sora looked over at him again, lips pursed in thought. "Could you? Really?"

Riku's mouth stretched thin into something between a smile and a grimace. "I...I love her, Sora. This isn't just some crush. I really love her."

Nodding slowly, Sora followed his gaze out into the distance. "Yeah. I can tell." It's why he had questioned whether or not he would really be content with a mere friendship. He never expected Riku to actually admit the depth of his feelings aloud. Sora was usually the only person who got the privilege of hearing those sorts of confessions from his friend, but the rarity of such a thing meant he was always surprised when it came. "I think...I think she loves you, too. Just...maybe she doesn't know it yet."

Riku finally turned his head slightly to give Sora a doubtful look. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you said you were in Port Royal, on the ship, right? One time she got up in the middle of the night and left the bunk room, and when she came back she had been crying. When I asked her about it, she said she really missed her friend. She had to have been talking about you, right?"

"Yeah. Her 'friend'," Riku echoed dismally.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Just because she used the word 'friend' doesn't mean it wasn't more than that. What did you want her to tell me, that she missed the guy she was totally in love with? And anyway, I don't think she would have been crying like that if you weren't really special to her."

Riku didn't answer for a moment. Finally, he dropped his gaze to the ground. "Maybe. I guess...I guess I just have to keep hoping, huh? Hoping that...if we make it back, there will still be a chance for us, somewhere down the road."

"Yeah!" Sora nodded enthusiastically, excited to hear at least a shred of optimism. "It might take some more time, but I'm sure you two will be happy in the end!"

One corner of Riku's mouth lifted in a semblance of a smile. "Well, I guess we'd better keep walking, then."

Grinning, Sora pulled Riku's arm a little more snug across his shoulders, and they began their trek once more. Silence settled over them again, but this time Sora's mind was whirling with all the new information he had just heard. Riku and Meli. Together. Somehow, he could see it. She had always seemed to have up a wall when she was around him, so he couldn't say that he had gotten to know her well, but still, the bits that he had seen of her true character seemed to fit. The more he thought about it, the more the idea of his best friend finding love and happiness made his heart swell.

"Riku's got a girlfriend..." he sang quietly.

"Shut up."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	17. Chapter 17

** Rhapsodyinjunee: **Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! Yes, I love their friendship so much. Thanks for leaving a review!

**Enamis09: **I wondered what had happened to you that week that you forgot to send your review! I thought maybe you were on vacation or something. :) Yes, I have finished KH3, so yes, that moment did relate to the epilogue. That's all I'll say, though! And yes, I felt like Luxord would be the most reasonable/sympathetic of the Organization members I had to choose from. I'm very curious to see where they're going to take his character, after the hints they dropped in KH3.

Haha well 18 is still plenty young, so I'm sure you will find that perfect guy at the right time! I got my first ever boyfriend at 19, and I married him! :)

**BlissfulNightRain: **I'm glad you've been enjoying these. I love the Sora and Riku bromance, too! It's too bad I haven't been able to focus more on it in this set of stories, just because of the nature of the plot, but I've been working on another story off and on that is all about the two of them. And it's in third person, too! :) Thanks for the compliments on that, by the way. Anyway, I did already have one request for bonding moments between Sora and Meli, so we'll get to see a little more of their time traveling together next week.

**Coolmegan123: ** I loved the last line, too, haha. Glad you liked it! Thank you for the compliments!

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**A/N: **Guess what? I finished the second draft of Inferno's Edge! Or, in the case of some chapters, the third draft, plus more edits on top of that. So right now, I'm forcing myself to keep some distance from it for as long as I can stand (even though I've already pulled it back out twice to change some things I thought of while lying in bed or showering or whatever). Then I'll go back and read the whole thing again, to make sure it's ready. I go back and forth constantly from thinking that it's really good to thinking that I haven't done very well expressing what I'm trying to, so fingers crossed that this read-through goes well.

I've got a poll for you guys...when this thing is ready, should I go back to updating twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, or keep this same schedule of just updating on Wednesdays? It's 47 chapters long (yep, if you happen to be keeping up, we went up one chapter on the second draft), so twice a week would put it ending in late January, while once a week would last all the way to next July. The second way seems a bit long to me, but I'd like to hear what you guys think!

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_This request is from _**Angie-ange**_! They asked for the first kiss scene from Riku's perspective. I'm gonna be honest, I suffered from some writer's block on this chapter, so I hope it turned out at least halfway decent. It certainly wasn't because of the request itself, so don't blame yourself! I ended up last minute writing it (I've had all the others written at least a week ahead of time, but I kept putting this one off because I was working so much on the sequel), and I was rather tired, and I've decided that pure romantic fluff really isn't my forte haha. I can do silly, teasing fluff, and I can do angsty fluff, but I feel like when I try to go the romantic route it gets corny. So, my apologies if parts of this are corny, but I think at least the fun and angsty parts turned out alright._

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** Chapter 23 Remix**

** (Runs parallel to chapter 23)**

** Riku's perspective**

It had been so long, so long since Sora had gone into that stupid pod. Each and every day that passed was, in my mind, a failure on my part to save him, to do what needed to be done so that he could wake up and just be his happy, normal self again. I missed him. Back on the Islands, I had always had both Sora and Kairi around, shining their light on my darkness. The moment that I had set off on my own was the moment my troubles had begun in earnest, and now all I craved was a little of that light back in my life.

Speaking of which...the sound of the back door of the mansion opening reached my ears, and I turned my face toward the approaching footsteps. "Good morning."

Meli yawned long and loudly, almost as if it was intentionally over-exaggerated. "Good morning."

I found myself smiling despite my morose thoughts of only a moment before. Meli tended to have that affect on me, and I still wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. All I knew was that, though her light might not be quite as bright as my other friends', it was just as warm and inviting, and I was drawn to her in a way that I had never been drawn to anyone before. She was just so...perfect. From the way she spoke when she was sleepy – like right now – to the way she could keep up an argument even when there was nothing left to argue about, to the way her skin felt so soft and smooth against mine whenever we happened to touch during training. On more than one occasion I had been tempted to just reach out and grab one of her tiny little hands, to hold it the way I had when she had been injured by the Heartless. Lately, though, I had also caught myself thinking about taking it a few steps further than that – like maybe even kissing her.

I could feel the heat creep into my cheeks just from the thought, and I busied myself with standing so that my hair would hide my face until it passed. "I thought now that you had coffee, you were supposed to be more alert in the mornings." The scent of the strong brew wafted from her.

"I said I would be less grumpy, not that I would be ready to go with the sunrise. Er...not that there is a sunrise, but...you know what I mean." She yawned again. "Besides, I haven't quite finished it yet."

"Well, why don't you do that, and start warming up, too. That should help wake you up. I wouldn't want to take advantage of your sleepiness when we spar."

"Oh, uh-huh, sure you wouldn't." She slurped the hot coffee. "Because you definitely don't enjoy beating me every single time."

I smirked. "Of course I like winning. But in this case, since I'm training you, the real win would be for you to beat me." She snort-laughed, but didn't respond. "It'll happen one of these days," I assured her.

"Yeah, okay." I could sense her walking toward me, but didn't expect the playful punch to my arm as she passed. My skin tingled at the touch, even through my coat.

A few minutes later, we were ready to begin our sparring match. I held back, watching the vague shadow that was Meli through my blindfold, ears alert for the sound of her movements, waiting for her to make the first move. She did, eventually, but only after taking her time positioning herself and deciding the best course of action. When we had first started out, she always wanted to dive straight into every fight right away, so this was a definite improvement.

I blocked her first swing over my right shoulder. Another came in toward my legs, and I jumped back to avoid it, surprising her with a blow to the side from the blunt edge of my sword. She stumbled, and I took the opportunity to cast Blizzard. Her leap out of the way was messy, landing her on her back in the dirt, but she was able to cast Dark Firaga, which had quickly become her favorite spell, right back at me. By the time I had blocked the incoming flames, she was on her feet again.

More ice erupted from the tip of Soul Eater, but suddenly Meli's shadow vanished out of the line of fire. I could no longer see her, but could feel the darkness coming straight at me and knew she was at full speed. My sword came up in front of my face just in time, but I was not expecting how much force she would be using coming straight out of that darkness-fueled run. Before I knew it, my feet were being swiped out from underneath me, and I landed flat on the ground. One of the spear tips of her Keyblade poked into my chest.

"Do you surrender?"

It took a few seconds before my brain fully registered the fact that she had just won the match. When it finally did, I couldn't keep a huge, goofy grin off of my face. "I've never been so proud to be beaten in my life. Congratulations, Meli!"

She huffed incredulously as she retracted her Keyblade. "I did it! I finally beat you!"

"I knew you could do it." She had come so far in such a short amount of time, considering she had never had any kind of combat experience before. It hadn't taken me long to realize that she was a quick learner, and I had been expecting this day for a while now. My chest was nearly bursting with pride.

"I didn't," she laughed. "I honestly wasn't sure this day would ever come."

Her self-doubt had been her biggest obstacle all along, but I wasn't about to launch into another lecture about that right now. "Well, that just means that you need to have more faith in yourself," was all I said, reaching up to take the hand that she had offered to me.

She helped me to my feet, and only then did I realize that we were holding hands, just like I had wanted. My heart stuttered, then flew into overdrive. I should have let go. I should have backed away a step or two, instead of continuing to stand so incredibly close to her. Maybe it was the emotional high that I was on from getting to see her succeed, but I didn't want to do either of those things. Her nearness was intoxicating. She smelled like coffee and sweat, of course, but also of her lilac shampoo, and somehow the combination was just...Meli, and I wanted to just keep breathing it in.

I leaned down closer to her, almost unable to stop myself. "I really am proud of you, Meli. You've come so far." It was nearly a whisper. If I had spoken any louder, my voice probably would have cracked and betrayed how I was feeling at that moment. It was so foreign to me, this want. There had been crushes in school, sure, but this was completely different. I would never have dreamed of being any kind of forward with any of those girls. But right now she was the tide, pulling me in, and I didn't even care if I drowned.

Her shallow, panting breaths stopped suddenly, as if caught in her throat. She was flustered, I could tell, but she didn't try to pull her hand away or step back, and it gave me hope. Maybe she felt the same way about me that I did about her. Maybe she was just waiting for me to make the first move. My face began to heat up again. Could I? Should I?

"Thanks," she whispered finally.

Her breath brushed across my lips, and I could stand it no longer. With a burst of courage, I bridged the gap between us and kissed her. At first she stiffened, and I almost yanked back, but just as quickly she relaxed, her lips parting slightly to mesh with mine. It may not have been my first kiss, but it was the first one I truly wanted to remember, the first one that wasn't completely awkward, the first one that was really just perfect, like her. I used the hand that wasn't holding hers to cup the back of her head, pulling her in even closer.

Then she grunted, jerked, and nearly fell back away from me. I reluctantly let her slide out of my grasp, heart still pounding, and watched her press the back of her hand to her lips with something wild in her eyes. "What...what was that?"

My heart sank, and the guilt and shame that I had feared started to take over. "I'm sorry, I've wanted to do that for a really long time now, but...I shouldn't have just sprung it on you with no warning." I rubbed the back of my neck, kicking myself inwardly for giving in to my desires like that.

"Why did you do that?" Every clearly overwhelmed word out of her mouth was like another punch to the gut. "Why would you...why would you do that?"

I sucked in a breath, trying to steady myself and garner the courage to speak the truth. "Because I care about you, Meli." There, I'd said it. I was probably stupid for feeling that way, but at least now she knew. "Maybe you hadn't realized it before..." I had kinda thought that the way I was constantly losing my cool around her would have given her a hint, but I shouldn't have assumed. "I'm terrible at sharing my feelings, so I tend to try to keep things like that hidden, I guess." Until I lose all of my resolve and do something idiotic like kiss you. "But I've felt...an attraction to you, ever since you first got here, and that has only grown the more I've gotten to know you."

The only sound for a long time was her heavy breathing. I clenched my fingers into fists, waiting, still stupidly hoping, but each passing second confirmed what I should have realized all along. "Should I...assume that you don't feel the same way?" Of course you should assume, Riku. Obviously she's only seen you as a friend this whole time, and now you've probably ruined that.

"I don't know," she finally spoke again, her voice merely a mumble. "It's not that I don't...I really don't know what I feel. It's just...I can't." She drew in a shaky breath. "I'm so sorry, but I can't."

She sounded so upset that my pity for myself was immediately replaced with concern for her. The tremble in her voice took me back to the night Aiden had attacked her. "You can't what?" I stepped closer to her, wanting to hold her again, but knowing that I shouldn't.

"I can't...care about anyone." She was on the verge of tears, and understanding started to come over me. "Not just you. Anyone. I can't, because the last time I cared about somebody..."

"Yeah. I know." Now I did reach out, feeling that she needed the comfort, but restrained myself to only touching her arms.

"That's the only relationship I've ever been in, so to me, being in a relationship means being controlled, and caged, and...and hurt, and I just..."

"You're not ready." I was back to beating myself up again, because I should have known, I should have realized that she wouldn't be ready for anyone to make a move on her when she had just gotten out of such a terrible relationship. I had let my feelings for her cloud all of my judgment, and I hated myself for it. "I understand. You need time to heal."

"I honestly don't know if I'm ever going to be ready. It might at least take me a really long time." Her sobbing tore at my heart, but one small ray of hope poked its way through my despair. She hadn't completely turned me down. If she had not felt any kind of attraction to me at all, she could have just told me that. Everything she had said indicated that there was a chance she could return my feelings, someday. So maybe, just maybe...

"I'll wait." I gently tipped her chin up toward me with one finger. Even though I couldn't see her tear-streaked face, I wanted her to see the honesty in mine. "Meli, you are the one bright spot in my dreary, dark world. Before you showed up in the basement that day, I had nothing left to live for except a promise to protect Sora. Now I have you, to look forward to seeing every morning, and to bring actual joy and laughter back into my life. It's not just that, though – you're more than just a friend. I..." Swallowing back my emotions, I forced myself to continue, knowing that I had to somehow let her know how much she really meant to me. "Like I said, I'm terrible at talking about my feelings, but...no one has ever made me feel the way that I do when I'm with you."

My introverted side was screaming by now from the amount of torture I was putting it through, but I had to ignore it for just a little bit longer. There was more that needed to be said. "I will never, ever hurt you, Meli. I promise you that. Hurting you is the last thing in the universe that I would ever want to do. Do you know how much it killed me, seeing you hurting that night after he...?" I swallowed hard. "I think that was actually the first time I realized just how much I cared about you. But I understand your need to heal, and I will wait for as long as it takes. When you're ready, and if you want to..." Which, of course, was still a really big if. "I'll show you what being in a relationship is really supposed to be like. Okay?"

I held my breath as I waited for her to respond, hoping I hadn't said too much. "Okay," she whispered after a moment. "I have no idea why you would care so much about somebody like me, but...thank you, for understanding."

"Of course." I suddenly remembered what had started all of this, back before I had ruined it all with my impulsiveness. Now I really needed to find a way to lighten the mood, to try to get her back to that happiness she had lost. "So, um...you want to get some ice cream or something? To celebrate your big win? You deserve it."

She laughed a little through her tears, and my heart skipped a beat. "Oh, yeah. I had almost forgotten. I did win, didn't I?"

I smiled. "Yeah, you did."

"Okay. Ice cream sounds pretty good."

The tension in my shoulders eased just a bit. Maybe I hadn't completely decimated our friendship, after all. "Good. Let's go, then."

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Enamis09: **Thank you! I really appreciate all of your compliments! I will do your request at some point, but I'm going to have to put it off a while longer. Once you read my author's note below, I think you'll understand my reason and won't mind the delay.

**Daughterofapollo12345: **Thanks! Glad you liked it. And thanks for voting, results are below in the author's note. :)

**Angie-ange: **Aw, thanks, I'm so glad you liked it! Don't worry about the writer's block at all, it was totally my fault for waiting until the last second ha.

**xOneSkyx: **Thank you so much! I'm glad it didn't seem forced to you. I appreciate your feedback, and thanks for voting!

**Coolmegan123:** I'm glad you liked it, and didn't think it was corny! Yes, bravo Riku, for speaking up for yourself for once haha. Thanks for the review, and the vote!

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**A/N: **I just wanted to take a second to say thanks so much to everybody for all the super sweet comments I got on the last chapter. You guys really know how to boost a girl's confidence!

The results of the poll are in – two votes for twice a week, two votes for "I can't decide!", and I was already leaning toward twice a week. So, twice a week it is!

Also...today is going to be the last oneshot for a while. If you have another request in mind, feel free to still send it in, but there's at least going to be a little bit of a break because...I'm ready to start posting Inferno's Edge! I haven't decided yet if I'll post the first chapter on Saturday or Wednesday. I originally had planned on starting on a Wednesday, but I may get impatient and not be able to wait that long haha. I'm still actually working on my last read-thru, but I've already started regaining my confidence that it's ready to go. Even if I end up changing some stuff in later chapters, the first ones are definitely ready.

So yeah, keep your eye out! And so that it doesn't throw you off, I'm planning on adding a series name to both Sorrow's Promise and Inferno's Edge, so that it's easier to see that they go together. I'm excited, and I hope you all are, too!

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_Today's request originally came from_ **darkenedharmonies**_, and was also mentioned by_ **BlissfulNightRain**. _It's Sora bonding time! Or at least, a glimpse at what Sora and Meli's relationship was like while they were traveling together. We'll get a different side of their relationship pretty soon, in Inferno's Edge. I had fun writing this, since it was my first time doing Sora in first person. Had to challenge myself a little bit to find his voice, and not use all of the same vocabulary that I would use with other people. Hope you enjoy!_

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**Chapter 34.5...again!**

** (Falls in the middle of chapter 34)**

** Sora's perspective**

Landing in a brand new world was, without a doubt, my very favorite part of traveling. There was no way of telling what kind of adventures were in store for us ahead, and though it was kinda terrifying in a way, it was a delicious terror. Like, the watching horror movies, telling scary stories at night, staring down the first hill of the roller coaster at the carnival kind of terror. I could just hear Riku in my head, matter-of-factly stating, "That's called adrenaline, Sora." I didn't care what it was called, though. I was gonna call it delicious terror.

The world that we had just walked out of the Gummi Ship into was particularly terrifying, in a way that raised goosebumps on my arms. It reminded me of Halloweentown, except that instead of dilapidated houses and a guillotine, I was looking at a deep, spooky forest, and a castle that was probably even bigger than the one in Hollow Bastion. The huge iron gates were definitely meant to discourage visitors, but of course that never stopped Donald, Goofy, and me. We were marching right up to them when I realized that Meli wasn't with us.

Stopping in my tracks, I spun around and spotted her still standing next to the ship, looking lost in thought. Of course, she looked like that a lot, almost all the time when she wasn't fighting Heartless or being talked to by one of us. "Hey, Meli! You coming?"

"Hm?" She broke out of her daze, staring blankly at me. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." She did that a lot, too – apologize for little things. "I just...this world..."

I glanced around at the dark, towering trees again, then grinned. "You scared?" It was half teasing, half genuinely concerned. She didn't seem like the type to be easily spooked, but then again, I barely knew her. She had hardly spoken a word at Yen Sid's tower and in Hollow Bastion, and in Land of Dragons we had been so busy the whole time that there wasn't any time for chatting. All I had found out about her there was that she was good with her Keyblade, and a natural in big Heartless fights. In between worlds, on the Gummi Ship, we all tried to talking to her when we weren't taking turns sleeping, and while she was more than willing to carry on a conversation, they always ended without me feeling like I had gotten to know her any better.

"No," she answered quickly, shaking her head. "It just...reminds me of...some things." There it was again, that sad voice she kept using, the one that sounded like her brain was actually in a totally different time or place. But just as quickly, she met my eyes and broke into a smile. "Sorry to hold things up. I'm ready now."

We walked through the gates together, into the courtyard where Donald and Goofy were waiting for us. Donald was tapping his foot impatiently, of course, but Goofy just gave us one of his warm smiles and turned to lead the way toward the castle.

"Wait...are we actually going in there?" Meli asked incredulously.

"Sure! Why not?"

"Well, um...'cause it looks like it might be haunted?" she ventured. "Or, you know, might belong to someone...or something...that really doesn't want us here?"

Donald scoffed. "Your imagination is just as bad as Sora's. We'll be fine! Besides, we've got to check the place out for Heartless."

I thought I heard her mumble something under her breath about "beasts", but didn't have time to dwell on it. Goofy had given up on knocking already and was opening the gigantic front door of the castle and strolling inside. Donald ran in after him, not about to be left out, and Meli and I brought up the rear.

A long, red carpet stretched out in front of us, with stone columns standing on either side. The only light in the room came from a few candles, and they made the shadows in the dark corners dance eerily.

"Hey, what is this place?" I asked as Donald and Goofy came to a stop in the middle of the room.

"It's huge!" Donald exclaimed.

"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy commented.

"Well there's the understatement of the century," Meli muttered from just behind me.

"I wonder who lives here?" Donald continued.

Just then, a thundering roar shook the castle. Donald leapt so far off the floor that it would have been hilarious, if I hadn't been just as startled myself. Gulping, I glanced at Meli, who was giving me a look that said something like, "Didn't I warn you?"

"Hey, does anybody else recognize that?" Goofy asked.

I crossed my arms and put a hand to my chin, thinking, as another roar echoed around us. It did seem a little familiar. "Hey! That's the Beast!"

"Yeah," Donald agreed.

"Wait, you guys know whatever that thing is?"

I turned to grin at Meli. "Yeah, of course! Beast helped us out on our last adventure!"

"Maybe we should check up on him," Goofy suggested.

Behind him, a darker shadow than the rest in the room slipped quickly across the floor. "Look!" I pointed as the Heartless crept through a nearby door.

"C'mon!" Donald shouted, and all four of us took off at a run to the next room.

Donald was the first to arrive, poking his head through the door and looking around. "Where did it go?"

Goofy, Meli, and I followed, but there was no sign of the rogue Heartless anywhere. Even its shadow seemed to have vanished. The only things to be seen were a roaring fireplace, a few paintings and sculptures, and a rose underneath a glass dome sitting on a table.

"Found it!" Donald squawked.

At that moment, several other Heartless popped up out of the floor, too, nearly surrounding us. Mega-Shadows. They definitely weren't the worst enemies possible, but put enough of them together and they could be a major pain, which is exactly what these turned out to be. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming, until all of us were panting and sweating and ready to drop.

"Aw, c'mon, enough already!" I groaned.

"Somebody help us!" Donald yelled.

Right on cue, the door burst open, and Beast prowled in. Heartless jumped at him from all sides, but he just swatted them away like they were flies, and they vanished in puffs of smoke as they smashed into the walls. Donald and Goofy and I watched him happily, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Meli take several uncertain steps back. I couldn't really blame her, Beast was a pretty intimidating guy if you didn't know him.

When the Heartless were all gone, I grinned and waved at him. "Just in time!"

His response was to stalk right past, knocking me to the side with a single sweep of his arm. Donald and Goofy got the same treatment with the other arm. Only Meli was spared, since she had retreated to a corner out of the way. Beast picked up the dome with the rose inside, cradled it to his chest, and turned and left the room without a single word.

I sat up to watch him go, more bothered by his behavior than by the rough fall, but as soon as he was a safe distance away, Meli stumbled to my side. "Are you okay?"

Glancing at her, I saw genuine concern and fear in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine, no big deal. Takes more than that to hurt me."

"But...he hit you." Her voice came out all trembly sounding, and that surprised me. She didn't seem like the type to let something so small get to her.

I scratched the back of my head, a little uncomfortable and definitely confused by everything that had just happened. "Yeah...weird, huh? That really wasn't like him." Her expression still didn't change. "But I'm okay, really. I promise."

Clambering to my feet, I joined Donald and Goofy in staring at the door. "Do ya think maybe he forgot who we were?" Goofy mused.

"With this many Heartless around, something must be up," I responded.

Donald massaged the side of his head irritably. "Why'd he have to do that?"

"Maybe we should go." Meli stepped up next to me, rubbing her hand up and down her arm. "It doesn't seem safe here."

"No way, Beast is our friend!" I shook my head vigorously. "We've gotta see if we can help him."

We found Belle first, who was immensely happy to see us, and thankfully seemed to get Meli into a little better mood by giving Donald a huge hug and making him mad. She told us that Beast just hadn't been himself lately, and asked us to help some friends of theirs that he had locked up. After we had done that, and had heard the story of how an enchantress had cast a spell on all of them, we went to Beast's room to try to talk to him.

Unfortunately, when we got there we found some Organization dude. He left pretty quickly, but Beast was still not in the mood to talk to us, and we ended up having to fight him, much to my dismay. Finally, he seemed to come to his senses. When we told him that he had locked up his friends, he was upset. He told us that Xaldin, the Organization dude, had tried to control him using his anger.

"We know you're good inside," Goofy assured him.

"He's right, Master," the clock named Cogsworth piped up. "We've all seen how kind you can be. After all...Belle can see the goodness in your heart, but I'm afraid you've yet to..."

"Belle!" Beast exclaimed suddenly. Then he hung his head with a sigh. "I've mistreated her...I've mistreated her and been so selfish."

I heard a small noise, maybe a huff of air, from Meli, and cut my eyes over to look at her. She had been super quiet most of the time we were here, even more so than usual, and when I had seen her right after the fight with Beast she looked a little shaken. Now, though, the expression on her face was one of anger. I wished I could figure out what was going on in her brain, why it was that this particular world seemed to have her so on edge.

We talked Beast into going to talk to Belle, and headed off back through the castle to find her. Meli trailed several paces behind everyone else, and I dropped back to walk next to her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

I raised an eyebrow at her curt response. "You don't seem too fine."

"I just..." She raised her head, glaring at the back of Beast. "I don't like him. At all."

"Aw, Beast really isn't a bad guy, I swear. You heard what Cogsworth said, he's got a good heart. It's just the Organization that's got him messed up in the head right now."

She gave a short laugh that didn't sound like she was at all amused. "Yeah, there's always some excuse, isn't there?"

I wrinkled my nose, confused. "I don't–"

"Listen." Meli stopped walking suddenly, and I did the same, turning to face her. "I don't know what Belle's story is, why she's here, but...if he's hurting her, she needs to get out. We need to get her out."

Was that what she was so worried about? "I'd be really surprised if he had hurt Belle. He cares about her way too much. And like I said, he's actually a good guy–"

"It doesn't matter! They're never bad guys, they always care!" I blinked at her in shock as she recovered from her outburst by running her fingers through her hair. "Sorry. But..." Taking a deep breath, she met my eyes. "I need you to swear to me, Sora, that if we find out that he's hurt her, even once, we'll get her out of here."

Slowly, I nodded, and forced a small smile onto my face. "Yeah. Yeah, no problem. We can do that."

Her shoulders dropped a tiny bit, and she nodded, too. "Thanks."

We started walking again, quickly now to catch up with the others, but my mind was spinning from that conversation. Every time I hoped I would learn a little bit more about Meli, I just ended up being more bewildered. It would have been so much easier if she would just tell me what she was thinking, instead of speaking in riddles and avoiding questions.

Belle was in the ballroom, but of course, so was a giant Heartless that took forever to defeat. Once it was gone, Beast and Belle were able to reunite, and they both seemed relieved to see each other.

"Belle... I-I'm sorry, I...wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you."

Meli was standing right next to me with her arms folded rigidly across her chest, watching the exchange intently. After our conversation, even I went a bit stiff then, waiting to hear Belle's answer. She didn't speak yet, though, only smiled and shook her head, and both Beast and I visibly relaxed. Meli, on the other hand, did not.

"Forgive me," Beast continued.

"I know you weren't yourself. You don't have to apologize," Belle replied.

A couple of minutes later, my Keyblade appeared in my hand on its own volition, and I was able to unlock the gate to the next world. When the light had cleared and my vision returned to the ballroom, Meli had pulled Belle over to the side and was talking to her quietly. Concerned, I crossed to them.

"Everything okay?"

Belle flashed me her usual bright smile. "Yes, everything is fine." Turning to Meli, she placed a gentle hand on her arm. "Thank you, Meli. You're very kind to worry about me. But please, rest assured that I'm alright. I trust Beast not to harm me, and I'm confident that we'll be able to get past all of this soon."

Meli still didn't seem all that convinced, but she smiled, anyway, then backed off to rejoin Donald and Goofy. Before I could walk away, though, Belle grabbed my shoulder.

"Look after that one. She carries a deep sadness with her."

Frowning, I looked to Meli, then back to Belle, before smiling again. "No worries. I will."

That night, lying on my back in the Gummi Ship bunk as we hurtled through space, I started thinking about what Belle had said again. Meli was...sad. I had known that already, really, though I hadn't necessarily thought to put a name to it. I wished I knew what it was she was so sad about.

Furrowing my brow, I tucked my hands underneath my head and tried to think if I had learned anything else noteable about Meli that day, through all the weird, confusing moments we had had. Meli...didn't trust very easily. That was another thing I had already suspected, based on her interactions with the three of us, but today had kinda confirmed that for me. She didn't want to trust Beast, no matter what anyone else had to say about him.

I remembered her rushing to check on me after Beast had hit me, and her talking to Belle to make sure she was really okay, and thought of one more trait that actually made me smile. Meli...cared about people. She might not want to admit it, but it was definitely true. And that...that was something we had in common. That made me realize that despite whatever differences or walls came between us, she was the type of person who could be a friend.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	19. Chapter 19

Oneshots are back, baby! I'm kicking off the return with 3 weeks of requests that take place between books 1 and 2, before we get into the Inferno's Edge oneshots. You should all be happy to know that these first 3 are 99% fluff and humor...you guys deserve a break from the angst for a little while.

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_Today's request was from __**Enamis09**__, back before I started posting Inferno's Edge, but I was about ready to start so I didn't get to this oneshot. She asked for Meli telling her friends about her former universe. The hair braiding session was not part of the request, but I couldn't resist!_

_ I would imagine that this takes place a few days (or maybe even the next day!) after the previous oneshot where everyone found out that Meli was Kairi's doppelganger._

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**Bonus ****chapter 3**

(Falls somewhere between books 1 and 2)

_Meli's perspective_

"So, this parallel universe." Sora was lying across his bed with his legs stretched up the wall, his head hanging slightly over the edge of the mattress. "What's it like?"

Before I could think of where to even start with an answer, Riku piped up from where he sat just in front of me. "They have tacos."

"Wait, you've been there?" Sora exploded, flopping abruptly over onto his stomach to stare wide-eyed at us.

"No. I've just had their tacos." He tilted his head to the side, nearly making both Kairi and me lose our grips on his already slippery hair, earning himself a smack on the shoulder from my sister. "They were kinda crappy tacos, to be honest."

I laughed, tugging on the braid that I had just finished. "That's because it was Taco Bell. They're supposed to be crappy. They cost like, one munny each."

"Do you have pizza?" Sora asked.

"Yes."

"What about ice cream?"

"Of course, though I'd never heard of sea-salt ice cream before."

"Pancakes?"

"Yep."

"They also have coffee," Riku interrupted. "Lots of coffee, apparently. It's a big deal over there."

"And I still have not figured out why it's not over here!" I threw my head back dramatically. "How do you people live?"

"With our tastebuds intact." Kairi wrinkled her nose at me. "You and Dad are weird. Coffee is gross."

"I like coffee!" Sora piped back up. "At least if it has lots of sugar in it."

I smirked wryly at him as I started on another little braid. "Yeah, somehow you strike me as the double chocolate chip frappuccino with extra whipped cream type."

His eyes went wide. "I don't know what that is but it sounds delicious."

"Sora's not allowed to have coffee." Kairi tied off her braid and began playing around with all of the ones we had already finished, arranging them in different ways. "Between the caffeine and the 'lots of sugar' he puts in it...well, you can imagine the results."

I laughed as Sora pouted. "Yes. Yes, I can."

"Okay, but back to the other universe. Do they have a beach?" Kairi asked.

"Oh yeah, plenty of them. But none anywhere near where I lived."

"You lived in a big city, right?" Riku questioned over his shoulder.

I nodded. "Right. I can't...really think of anywhere I've seen here to compare it to...well, except for when we were fighting Xemnas, and we walked through those big doors onto the city street. That reminded me of my city at night, just, you know, add in people and cars, and take out the psychopath and the flying buildings."

Riku and Kairi seemed to be thinking back to that moment, considering the information. Sora, however, jumped right back into the apparent game of twenty questions. "But do you have video games?"

Laughing, I rolled my eyes affectionately. "Maybe it would be easier if I just told you the differences that I know of."

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah, let's hear it!"

I shifted to sit cross-legged, letting Kairi take over the hair styling for the moment, since she was busy twisting all of the braids together anyway. "Well, there's no magic."

Sora blinked. "What? Not even a little bit?"

"Not that I know of." I shrugged. "People pretend to do magic sometimes, but it's all tricks and illusions. I mean, it could be that I just never heard about it, like some of the people here, but I've never seen evidence of it."

"So no Keyblades, right?" Kairi queried, painstakingly pinning her creation into place.

"Right. And no Heartless or Nobodies that I've ever seen. I'm not sure how that difference works."

Dropping his head back down onto the bed, Sora let his arms dangle down over the side. "Gee. Maybe we should take a vacation there sometime."

"Technology is a big deal, too...not in every part of the universe, necessarily, but at least in the most populated parts. TV, computers, the internet..."

"What's the internet?"

I laughed. "I have no idea how to even begin to explain that to you. I was rarely ever on it, myself, only if I was job hunting at the library. I didn't have a computer at my apartment, just a tiny, old TV."

"Which is where you got all of your many quotes and references from," Riku commented.

"Right," I smiled. "I was kind of an anomaly in that sense, though...not owning a computer, or a smartphone. Pretty much everyone owns a smartphone these days."

"What's a smartphone?"

"Mm, it's a mobile phone, but you can do all kinds of other things on it, too. Like it's got a camera, and the internet...which I realize you guys still don't know what that is...and you can edit pictures, and send messages, and play games...basically it's a computer. Just, a really tiny computer that is also a phone." I never imagined that I would need to explain these things to anybody, and I was now aware that I completely sucked at it.

"Oh, and another important thing," I added, getting back up on my knees to accept a handful of sparkly barrettes and flower pins from Kairi. "No humanoid animals like Donald, Goofy, and the King."

"Really?" Sora exclaimed.

"Well you know, none of us had seen anything like them before we left the Islands," Riku pointed out.

Sora hummed. "Yeah, that's true. But I'm so used to them now that it's hard to imagine them not existing."

"I imagine it's somehow connected to the 'no magic' thing." I clipped back a stray section of Riku's hair that hadn't made it into a braid. "But yeah, that was one of the biggest surprises for me over here, seeing them for the first time."

Comfortable silence fell for a few minutes as Kairi and I peppered Riku's twisted braids with multi-colored flowers. "So, for the most part," she spoke up eventually, "it sounds kinda like the two universes aren't all that much different."

I pursed my lips in thought. "No, I guess not. Sometimes I think they are, but when it all boils down they have plenty of similarities."

Silence again for a moment, then Riku asked very quietly, "Do you ever think about going back?"

Immediately I punched him in the arm. "No. Of course not. Why would I?" I glanced at each of my friends in turn, but returned my focus to the final flower pin in my hand as I spoke again. "I've got everything I could ever want right here."

"Aw," Sora cooed.

"Especially such a gorgeous man!" I exclaimed in an over-enthusiastic, affected voice, leaning forward to plant a wet smack on Riku's cheek. "Look at him, isn't he beautiful?"

"So beautiful!" Kairi joined in with her own weird accent. "The loveliest hair I've ever seen! Come over here, darling, and see how lovely it is!" She yanked him unceremoniously to his feet and dragged him across the room to the mirror that hung over Sora's dresser, and I followed with the handheld mirror so that we could show him the back of his head.

"What do you think, darling?" I asked him, grinning at his obviously nonplussed reaction.

"It's...yeah. It's lovely. Very...sparkly."

Sora just shook his head at us. "Speaking of plenty of similarities...sometimes the two of you are way too much alike."

"Watch it, mister." Kairi pointed a finger at him and narrowed her eyes.

Then, in the most perfect coincidence, we both simultaneously added, "Besides, we are the same person, after all."

Kairi and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows before bursting into giggles over the sound of Sora moaning, "That was so creepy!"

When the laughter had subsided, Kairi clapped her hands together, back down to business. "Alright. Riku's had his makeover. Now it's your turn!"

Sora bolted upright on the bed. "What? No! Riku volunteered, I never did such a thing!"

"Don't you want to be as gorgeous as Grim?" I teased.

He shook his head adamantly. "Nope. Nope. This is one competition he can win. Not doing it."

"Aw, come on, Sora. Don't be a chicken," Riku grinned.

"I'm not a chicken, I just– ahh!" His argument was cut off when Kairi and I both lunged for him. Flailing backwards, he fell off the end of the bed, but was back on his feet immediately and running out the door.

"After him!" Kairi cackled, and we raced out of the bedroom, hot on his heels.

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	20. Chapter 20

** Enamis09: **Glad you liked it! I like your idea, but I'm not sure if that's something I'll be able to do. Firstly, I'm not sure if I could do such a big AU justice in just a oneshot. Second, I don't know if I could do it without accidentally copying another story I've read just like that. You should definitely check that out, though. It's called Eclipse of the Heart by FadedPhantom. Her OC, Aila, has some fun and adorable reactions to meeting her favorite characters, plus it has a really compelling AU storyline.

**Nevquariel: **I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, even in canon I wish there were more happy moments for us to see.

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_This week we have our first request from _**_Nevquariel_**. _She asked for the last chapter of Sorrow's Promise – the reunion – from Riku's perspective. This one definitely has more angst than the last one, and also whump because I've always loved the end of KH2 and I couldn't help myself. But don't worry, the whole last part of it is pure fluff._

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**Chapter 54 ReMix**

(Runs parallel to chapter 54)

_Riku's perspective_

Silence had fallen between Sora and me for a while. There was nothing more to say, really. After all, we had been wandering through the Realm of Darkness for what seemed like hours with nothing better to do than talk, and now we were, as far as I could tell, stuck. Stuck on a lonely, gloomy, darkness-infested beach, an immeasurable distance from the people we longed to be with.

Leaning onto my hands, I tipped my head back to gaze up at the black sky. There weren't even any stars to break up the void. It was much more pleasant if I closed my eyes. I could focus more then on the sound of the waves, and imagine that I was back on Destiny Islands for the first time in two years. The surf was frigid cold, washing all the way up nearly to my hips and completely soaking my shoes and the hems of my pants, but I didn't care. It took my mind off of the pain that throbbed in my shoulder, seared across my lower back, and periodically shot down into my left leg.

A new sensation jolted my brain out of thoughts of home and Meli. Sitting up straighter with a wince, I spotted a blue glass bottle afloat in the waves, bumping up against my foot. It looked like a piece of paper was inside. I never would have expected to find a message way out here in the middle of nowhere, but I wasn't about to pass up seeing what it was.

Sora remained oblivious, his own eyes closed, while I yanked out the cork and pried out the paper with stiff fingers. The handwriting immediately struck me as familiar, making my heart skip a beat with surprise, and a quick scan of the message showed what was likely a poem and an even more familiar signature. Tempted as I was to read the whole thing myself, I knew that it wasn't meant for my eyes.

"Sora?" He blinked open his eyes and turned them toward me, his eyebrows raising as he spotted the paper. "I think it's for you."

Taking the message carefully in his fingers, he turned it over and studied it. "Thinking of you, wherever you are..." He trailed off then, reading the remainder silently.

Kairi. If anyone could somehow send a message in a bottle from the Realm of Light and have it chase after the boy I knew she secretly loved all the way to a beach in the Realm of Darkness, it was her. That girl had always had some kind of magic in her, way before we even knew magic was a real thing.

Meli had that same something special about her, which was no surprise considering their relation. It was difficult to put a finger on what it was, but there was just something about them that made me think they were destined for great things. In fact, if there were any two people that I could believe would actually be able to get us out of this mess and back home, it would be the two of them.

Or at least get Sora back home. I wasn't confident that I would make it long enough for that, not unless one of us came up with some healing magic really soon. The good news about a wound from Xemnas' blades was that it was mostly instantly cauterized. Despite that, I could still feel sluggish bleeding from my back, especially, every time I moved. And if we were attacked by Heartless here on their home turf, I could barely even stand on my own, much less fight. If only we hadn't both depleted our magic to the point of exhaustion.

My morose train of thought was interrupted by a sudden blinding light. It appeared as a thin streak above the water to begin with, but quickly grew in width, like a door opening.

"Light." The sight was so foreign in this dark world that it was all I could think of to say.

"The door to light..." Sora was on his feet an instant later, still clutching the paper. Turning to me, he held out his free hand. "We'll go together."

I looked up at his eager face, and for a moment I wondered if I should even bother. Could I even make it out there to the door? What if I slowed Sora down too much, and he missed his chance? Then I thought of this boy in front of me, of how he had never ever given up on me. I thought of our home and our friends that were waiting for us. I thought of Meli and the relationship that I still had a glimmer of hope could survive.

"Yeah." The moment was over in the blink of an eye, and I clasped onto his outstretched hand and accepted the help up.

The light seemed to grow, spilling out of the door, over the water, and up onto the beach where we stood. With it came a revitalizing energy that I breathed in gratefully. My injuries were still very much present, but I felt like I could actually walk forward on my own. A few steps into the water, side by side with Sora, into the light...

And we were falling. The abrupt change in sensation stole my breath and made my stomach turn a somersault. When the white light cleared from my vision, I could see water straight below us, but this time it wasn't black and dreary. This was aqua blue water, tinged with orange from the setting sun. Before I had more of a chance to decide where we were, Sora and I both hit the water at top speed. The impact stung every exposed patch of skin on my body and left a momentary ache in my bones.

Breaking the surface with a gasp for air, I started treading water and attempted to shake my long, wet hair out of my face while looking around. We were...home. In the middle of the ocean, yes, but our ocean, right in front of our play island. The last time I had seen that little island, it had been breaking apart and being sucked into a dark vortex, but there it was, bright and welcoming. And best of all, Meli and Kairi were on the beach.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi yelled, waving happily.

Sora laughed and turned to grin at me, and all I could do was make a little noise of disbelief. He took off swimming as fast as he could paddle. I followed with the steady stroke that had been ingrained into me since I could walk, ignoring the screaming of my shoulder. I could handle a little pain right now. Meli was just a few yards away.

By the time the water grew too shallow to swim and I forced myself to my feet, she was standing next to Kairi, looking just as dumbfounded as I felt. I wished I could run to her like Sora was running to Kairi right then, but the burst of energy was quickly wearing off and it was all I could do to trudge through the knee-deep water.

The next thing I knew, Sora was being tackled down into the shallows by a very enthusiastic Donald and Goofy, and Mickey was barreling toward me. I just barely caught him in mid-air, letting his momentum spin me around.

"Good to have ya back, pal!" he exclaimed.

I smiled and gave a nod. "Good to be back."

My real focus was still on Meli, though, who was still standing back on the beach with one hand gripping the other arm. Setting Mickey down, I watched her carefully, wondering what she was thinking. She somehow already looked so much healthier than she had a few hours ago, I could tell that even from this distance. But as for where we stood, I had no idea. Things in the Castle had been so confusing, and even though she seemed to have been warming back up to me toward the end, I didn't want to get my hopes up too soon.

Finally she met my eyes for the first time, and something sparked. She broke into a run, pounding through the water, and before I could let myself believe that she was actually running to see me, she was jumping straight into my chest and clinging to me with her legs. I didn't even feel the pain when I hit the sand. All I felt was her warmth underneath my hands, her fingers clutching desperately to my vest, her body pressed as close to mine as it could possibly get, her lips slipping between mine over and over again. Forget our first kiss. This was the moment that I wanted to remember forever, the kiss that she had initiated, the moment that I knew she must feel the same way about me as I felt about her. I dug in hard to the final kiss, sliding my tongue along her bottom lip, wanting to just inhale her whole being.

She broke away after that, tucking her head up in between my jaw and shoulder, and I couldn't help but kiss the bare expanse of neck in front of me. I had dreamed of this so many times. Now I could barely believe it was happening – the whole last several minutes seemed like a dream that I was bound to wake up from at any time.

Meli's hands went sliding up my scalp, sending a shiver down my spine, and she took a firm but gentle hold of my hair as her forehead pressed into mine. "You came back," she whispered, breath nearly hitching in her throat. "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again."

"I wasn't sure if I would see you again, either." Pulling away slightly, I let my eyes roam over her tear-streaked face, bringing one hand up to squeeze the back of her neck. "I'm so happy that you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay, too." Her brow furrowed. "You...are okay, right? We thought it had to have been Xemnas..."

"Yeah, yeah we're fine," I assured her, not wanting her to worry anymore.

"No he's not!" I shut my eyes and clenched my jaw shut at Sora's interruption. So much for not making her worry. "He could barely walk just a few minutes ago."

Meli jerked her head back around from looking at Sora to stare wide-eyed at me, frantically scooting herself off of my lap an instant later. I saw the moment that she found the wound on my shoulder. "Grim, why didn't you say something?"

"It's not that bad."

"He only says that because the one on his back is a lot worse," Sora called.

"Sora..." It was too late then, Meli was already crawling through the water to reach my back, and my swatting hand wasn't fast enough to keep her from yanking up my shirt to see.

"You can't lie to your girlfriend, Riku. At least not while I'm around. I'm the one who just dragged your butt through the dark realm, remember?"

I shot Sora a withering glare, but he only smirked cheekily with his hands on his hips.

Meli sucked in a gasping breath. "Grim! You...he nearly cut you in half! If this had been a quarter of an inch closer to your spine..."

"I know, I know." I really wasn't sure that it hadn't already done some kind of damage to my spine, based on the near uselessness of my left leg. I hated that I was currently the center of all this attention though, with everyone standing around staring at me. "Don't fuss about it."

Once again, I reached back and attempted to move her hands away and return my shirt to its normal position, but she latched onto my wrist to stop me. "Uh-uh. The tables are turned now. You have to let me take care of you, for once."

The green light of a healing spell erupted over my head and spilled across my body. Immediately the less significant wound on my shoulder healed up, my leg stopped hurting, and the pain in my lower back was reduced to a dull ache.

Meli propped her chin on my shoulder. "How does that feel?"

"Much better," I sighed in relief, turning my head to look at her as best I could. "Thanks..."

Her finger jabbed straight into the spot where the wound had been before I could fully finish my thought. Another jolt of pain shot through my torso at the contact, and I winced without thinking.

"Still hurts, though, doesn't it?" she asked. I couldn't even be mad at her, I was too relieved to have her back to her old, sassy self. "And you guys think I'm bad at accepting help." Another Curaga fell over me, and I breathed in deeply as the last of the pain receded. "Okay, now how does it feel?"

I spun myself around to face her, happy to once again be able to move freely, and grabbed her hands in mine. "Now it feels perfect. Honestly."

She started to smile, but quickly dropped it for a stern look. "You should have let me know that you were hurt before I came and jumped on you like that. If I had known–"

"No, don't you dare." I brushed my thumb across her cheek, relishing the way her eyelids fluttered at the touch. "I would not have traded that moment for anything." That moment would probably go down in history as one of my most cherished.

A little while later, we had all made ourselves comfortable up on the beach. I was more than comfortable, in fact, I was in heaven. Meli's warm body fit perfectly up against mine, her breath whispering across my bare arm from where her head rested against my heart. The conversation had touched on more than one serious subject over the last few minutes, but no one was in much of a hurry to do anything but just enjoy this moment, enjoy finally all being together and at peace.

Squeezing Meli a little tighter in my arms, I dropped a kiss onto her forehead. She obligingly tilted her face back further, and I drank in her features once again. After knowing her for so long without being able to actually look at her, I didn't think I was ever going to get tired of the sight. I brushed my lips down her perfect little nose, then found her lips again, tasting the salt from the ocean that had dried there.

"Ew." A seashell ricocheted off my arm, and I very reluctantly broke the kiss to send another glare at Sora. "You two are going to be 'that couple' at school, aren't you?"

"Aw, give them a break." Kairi slapped Sora's arm, and he rubbed the spot with a wrinkled nose. "They're adorable. And besides, I think they've earned a little PDA."

Whether she thought that because we had apparently been missing for two weeks instead of a few hours, or because maybe she had heard a bit more of our story at some point along the way, I didn't know, but I couldn't care less. I just wanted to get back to kissing my girl. Apparently she had the same thought, because when I turned my attention back to her she was smiling up at me. My girl. My Meli. I still couldn't believe it. I kissed her again, trying to wrap my brain around the thought that I was going to be able to keep kissing her whenever I wanted.

"I love you, Grim."

I stopped breathing for what must have been at least a few seconds, my ears ringing with the words I had waited so long to hear. Tears pricked my eyes, and I buried my face in her soft hair before they could get the best of me. She loved me. I was the happiest guy in the universe. "I love you, Meli."

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Enamis09: **I think maybe I get what you're asking for? I'm not sure if I know how to go about writing it, though. I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Good luck with your guy friend. :)

**Nevquariel: **That's a good idea that I had not thought of yet! Since it takes place between books I'll go ahead and slot it for next week, before we get into Inferno's Edge related stuff. Glad you liked the last one, and hope you enjoy your other requests, too!

**Coolmegan123:** (replying to your review on chapter 19) Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! As much of a chocoholic as I am, I've never actually tried that drink! I'm too addicted to their iced chai lattes with cinnamon dolce syrup. The inclusion of the double chocolate chip frapp was in honor of my youngest sister, that's what she always gets! She's a total sugar addict just like I imagine Sora to be haha. And yeah I don't know if I've ever mentioned it before, but I actually hate coffee. Meli's obsession is inspired by my husband lol.

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_Another request from __**Nevquariel**__! This time it's Riku's haircut. Even though this gets mentioned in Inferno's Edge, I went ahead and included it with the rest of the "betweens", since it also gets hinted at in Sorrow's Promise and it's really not much of a spoiler. Again, this is mostly fluff, but because it's me there's a sprinkling of angst. Also, I randomly decided to do this one in third person and then struggled against myself the whole time because I'm so used to first person now._

_ I would imagine that this takes place not long after the last chapter, before the two scenes where they talk about parallel universes._

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**Bonus chapter 4**

(Falls just after book 1)

_Riku's perspective_

"So, how short are you wanting to go?" Meli flipped a navy blue towel around in front of Riku and settled it around his shoulders, then picked up another identical one to cover his back. "Are we talking a trim, or a buzz cut, or somewhere in between...?"

Riku laughed. "Well, definitely more than a trim. I'm not positive what a 'buzz cut' is, but based on the way it sounds I'm gonna say no."

"Good, because I think I'd have to shoot you if you said you wanted me to shave off all this gorgeousness." Running her fingers up through his hair, she fluffed it out a few times, sending a shiver down his spine to combat the heat rising into his cheeks.

"I honestly haven't thought about it too much. Shorter than Sora's, I think? And definitely not as...spiky." Meli gave a little laugh at that, continuing to gently comb through his hair with her fingers. He found himself relaxing into the sensation, almost tempted to let his eyes drift shut. "Maybe a little longer in the front than in the back?"

"So, like a reverse mullet?" Despite not knowing what she was talking about, he could tell by her tone she was teasing. Before he could question her, though, she waved a hand in his peripheral vision. "Never mind. Are we keeping the bangs?"

Riku stopped to consider before answering. "Yeah, I think so. Definitely a little shorter, though."

A small hand came around to his forehead and shoved said bangs up out of the way, before letting them flop back down into place. He couldn't help but be reminded of the time she had done the same thing in the mansion, one of the first times she had deliberately touched him. "Yeah. I agree with you there."

"I had a feeling you would."

She came around to stand in front of him, studying him from a couple of different angles, occasionally reaching out to play with a section of hair. "Okay. I think...I think I have an idea." Crossing her arms suddenly, she twisted her lips to the side. "I'm nervous, though. I've never...actually cut anyone's hair besides mine." She snorted, shifting her eyes away. "Aiden didn't trust me enough to do his."

Lifting his arm carefully so as not to disturb his towel cape, he grasped her elbow and squeezed gently. She shook her head slightly and smiled at him. "Sorry. I'm okay." For once he actually believed her. The usual sparkle in her eyes was still there, not overtaken by the shadow of old memories. "Anyway, I don't have any experience on other people, and I'm still not super familiar with the styles over here. Are you sure you want me to do this?"

"Yes," he replied without hesitation. "I do. I have faith in you, you're gonna do great."

Meli took a deep breath, staring at him, then let it out in a whoosh. "Okay. As long as you're sure."

She got to work right away, first trimming the pieces that framed his face to be around chin length – with an adorable expression of concentration, he noted – then moving back behind him and spraying water on the remainder. To start with the only sound was the soft _snick _of the scissors. Riku didn't speak, not wanting to break her focus. But eventually, she seemed to relax into the work, and started up a conversation herself. They flitted around to a variety of subjects, Meli telling him a few more stories of things that had happened in the previous two weeks while he had been missing, and Riku filling in his own stories in between. It had been years since anyone but him had messed with his hair, and he decided he rather liked it. The soft tugs and the scrape of the comb across his scalp, combined with the warm sun overhead, were nearly enough to put him to sleep, had the company not been so riveting.

After some time, once a decent pile of silver tufts had accumulated in the grass around his chair and Meli had finished styling the back and top of his head to her liking, she reappeared in front of him and bent down to work on his bangs. "I can't wait to actually be able to see your eyes properly," she smiled.

"It's been a while since you've cut yours, hasn't it?" He hadn't been paying attention before, but he noticed now that the normally close-cropped side had gotten a good bit longer since she was traveling with Sora. "Are you thinking of growing it out, or just haven't had time?"

Meli pressed her lips into a thin line, eyes still focused on his bangs. "Thinking of growing it out," she answered after a moment.

He resisted the urge to furrow his eyebrows, not wanting to mess her up. "That wasn't a very confident answer. What made you decide that?"

Sighing, she straightened up and bit down on the corner of her lip. "Um...there's..." The hand that wasn't holding the scissors went up and rested on the back of her neck. "I just...I don't want..."

Realization dawned across his expression. "Your scars."

She winced a little, gripping her neck tighter until he was afraid her fingernails might be digging in. "Yeah. I wasn't...planning on growing my hair out this soon, but...I wanna cover them up."

Without warning, he snatched her by the waist and pulled her into his lap, eliciting a squeak out of her. "Have I told you that you're beautiful?" He pressed a kiss right onto the first branch of scarring that peeked out from under her collar. "Every little bit of you." The next one got a kiss, as well. "Including the scarred parts." He kissed the final visible mark, lingering a little longer on that one.

When he looked back up into Meli's face, there were tears glistening in her eyes and she was red all around her ears, but she was smiling. "You're so cheesy, you know that?" She dropped her own kiss onto the tip of his nose. "And I love you for it. But now you've gotten hair all over the place." With a wave of her hand, she indicated the tiny pieces that had scattered from his askew towel onto both of their clothes.

"I don't care." He kissed her again, on the mouth this time, unwilling to resist the draw of her skin now that he had begun. "But seriously." Looking her right in the eyes, now without a fringe of hair in his way for the first time ever, he made sure she was paying attention before continuing. "I think you should do whatever you want with your hair. If you really want to grow it out, that's great. It will look just as beautiful as it does now. But if you don't want to, then don't. No one who matters is gonna care about your scars. The important thing is that you're happy with the way you look. If that means having short hair, keep it short. If that means covering your scars, then go for it." His mouth quirked up to the side. "Deal?"

For a moment she just looked back at him, then gave a little nod and a smile. "Deal." She pried herself off of his lap, much to his chagrin. "Now can I finish your bangs?"

"Fine," he groaned dramatically.

A few more snips was all it took for her to be satisfied. "Okay. I think..." Standing back, she surveyed her work, chewing anxiously at her lip. "I think you're done. Do you...wanna see?"

He shook his head around, trying to get used to not being able to feel his hair brushing his shoulders. It was strange. But it had been time for a change – new season of life, new hair. It felt a bit like the weight of the past few years of darkness had been chopped off and left behind. "Yeah, let's see it!"

After shaking out the towels and dusting off their clothes, Meli followed Riku back into his house and to the bathroom. She stood a bit behind him as he took in his appearance in the mirror, her hands clasped in front of her mouth. "Don't you dare lie to me," she ordered after a few seconds of silence. "I mean obviously I can't help it if it's too short, but if there's anything you don't like you have to tell me so I can try to fix it. You can't just say you like it because I'm the one who did it, you have to be hon–"

"I like it." He cut her off mid-ramble, putting down the hand mirror he had used to see the back of his hair and turning to face her. "I really do, I promise. It's going to take a little bit of getting used to it being this short, but this is exactly what I had in mind...except better, because I couldn't picture it perfectly."

Meli tucked her still-clasped hands underneath her chin. "You're sure?"

He smiled. "Do you really think I'd lie to you?"

"Mmm..."

Groaning in play exasperation, he pulled her into a hug by her shoulders. "Come here, you. You did great. I love it."

She sighed into his chest. "Good. Because I do, too. I mean, the long hair was pretty attractive, not gonna lie...minus the bangs...but this is like, more mature, I think. And hot."

Riku chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Well, I'm in good company, then."

Tipping her head back, she peered up into his face with a smile. "Should we go show your mom?"

He couldn't resist planting one last kiss onto her forehead. "Yep. Let's go."

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	22. Chapter 22

** Nevquariel: **You're welcome! Glad it was what you wanted!

**DyingofFeels: **Ha yeah who knows what happens to his hair. I actually like his second haircut so much better! I wonder if we're ever going to get an explanation for that. Have you heard of the whole "sleeping realm theory"? I haven't decided if I believe it or not. It's so complicated.

**Enamis09: **I used to have super long hair, too! It yo-yos between chin length and shoulder blades these days, but it was down past my butt when I was a kid.

Yes, in answer to your questions, there are millions of other universes. She's only traveled between the two, just because she hasn't found a connection with any others.

**Coolmegan123:** Yep! Technically, after I wrote the part in Inferno's Edge where it said she had cut it, I realized that the cutscene where they got the message from Mickey he still had long hair. But I decided to ignore that because I liked the idea of him cutting it as soon as he got home.

* * *

_ Another request from **Nevquariel **today! I'm not sure how close this is to what she wanted...she asked for Meliku's first date, and I ended up spending just as much time on pre-date as I did the actual date. I had an easier time writing that part! But anyway, don't be fooled by the threat of angst at the beginning, this is definitely all fluff. Also it makes me crave all the foods that they eat._

_This takes place a few weeks after the reunion on the beach, could be either before or after the parallel universe revelation._

* * *

**Bonus Chapter 5**

(Falls in between books 1 and 2)

_Meli's perspective_

"Hey, um...Meli?"

I looked up at Riku where he sat beside me with one arm draped over my shoulders. "Yeah?"

"Um..." His gaze remained on his lap. "Can I...talk to you for a minute? Alone?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Frowning, I glanced over at Sora and Kairi, but they were still engrossed in their discussion about the movie we had just finished. Riku stood from the couch and began making his way toward the stairs that led up out of the basement, so I followed, though a bit reluctantly. He was acting weird. I didn't like it. My mind automatically went to worst case scenarios of what he might want to talk about.

_He's already tired of me. This is not going like he thought it would, and he's changed his mind. He's realized that I'm really not all that great, after all._

We stepped out onto the front porch, the yellowish tint of the setting sun bright in my eyes after the dim lights of the basement. Riku leaned against one of the towering white columns with one shoulder. His hands were fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt, like he was nervous about the conversation to come. I was, too, my heart pounding in my chest, but I kept my hands clenched in fists by my side and refused to let my fear show.

"I, um...I was thinking. We...we've been together for, you know, a little while now...I mean, a few weeks, at least..."

He wasn't even looking at me, so I allowed my eyes to squeeze shut. _Just say it already._

"And I was just realizing that, well...we haven't actually been on an official date yet." The last part of the sentence came out in a rush, and his halting speech was replaced with a constant stream of words. "We've been hanging out together for like, forever, it seems like, but it's always been either just as friends or with Sora and Kairi, and that's fun, I like doing that, too, but, you know, we are actually boyfriend and girlfriend now, so we should, like, date at some point, and that's my fault that I haven't even asked you out yet, I guess because we had such an unorthodox start to our relationship, but–"

"Grim." At some point during his rambling speech it began to dawn on me where he was going with this, and I stared at him incredulously. "Are you...asking me on a date?"

Finally he made eye contact, and let out a huge breath with a whoosh. "Yeah," he replied sheepishly, the corners of his mouth turning up just slightly. "That's...what I was supposed to be doing, anyway. I'm not doing a great job of it, though."

My earlier fears having flown out the window, I grinned and gave a laugh. "We've been a couple for weeks, like you said, and we practically lived alone together for months before that. Why are you so nervous about asking me – your girlfriend – on a date? It's not like you don't know whether or not I like you."

He blushed, his shoulders raising up around his ears. "I don't know. It's just...official, you know? Our first date. Feels like it needs to be done right. Which...I completely failed at."

Giggling again, I stepped forward and pecked him on the cheek. "I would love to go on a date with you, Riku Tanaka."

His smile grew, and he straightened up and cleared his throat. "Glad to hear it. Shall I pick you up tomorrow night at six?"

"That sounds delightful."

.o.0.O.0.o.

Despite the grief I gave Riku about being nervous asking me out, I found myself just as nervous the next evening as six o'clock drew near. Kairi had helped me get ready, at least by finding a new way to style my awkward, half-grown-out hair so that it looked semi-decent, and by nearly forcing some lip gloss and mascara onto my face. My clothing I had picked out myself, though it was nothing too spectacular – just a nice pair of dark wash skinny jeans paired with a flowy turquoise top and some black boots. I hoped he wasn't taking me anywhere too fancy, because I didn't have any nicer options. My purple bracelet from Zephyr was in its usual place around my left wrist, and I wore the choker that had come with my fairy outfit.

Kairi laughed at me as I bounced up and down on my toes at the bottom of the stairs. "You two are hilarious. You'd think that this was your first ever time being alone together."

"Well, it's...it's different." I bent my knees and straightened them again, trying to work out my pent up energy. "We were alone all the time to start with, yeah, but it's like he said, we were just friends. It didn't mean anything." I jumped, thinking I heard someone at the door for the fifteenth time, then sighed. "Tonight is supposed to be special. I just want it to go well."

"And it will!" Kairi stood from where she had been sitting on the steps and placed both her hands on my shoulders. "Especially if you will just relax. If both of you are this nervous the whole time then it's not going to be nearly as fun. You love him, he loves you, so just be yourself!"

I drew in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then released it. "Yeah. You're right. I'll try."

Just then the doorbell finally rang, and any calm that I had acquired vanished. With a mischievous smirk, Kairi jogged away before I could move and yanked open the front door. "Ooh, Riku, don't you look nice this evening! I wonder who you could be here to see?"

"Hi, Kairi," I heard him mumble, then he pushed past her and entered the foyer, his eyes immediately finding mine. He was wearing jeans, too, and his usual pair of sneakers, but his black t-shirt was accompanied by a casual grey jacket with a stand-up collar that I had never seen before. His hands were in his pockets, and I could tell from his stance that he was still nervous, too. "Hey."

I smiled, trying to calm all my jittery movements. "Hi."

He grimaced suddenly, putting a hand to his forehead. "Shoot, I should have brought you flowers or something. I'm sorry. I told you I was failing at this."

"It's okay! I don't need flowers." _I don't want flowers. _Walking forward to meet him, I clasped his hand in mine. "Let's just get out of here, okay?"

"Hold on, not so fast." Mr. Yoshida's deep voice broke into the conversation as he entered the room, startling me. "You weren't going to take off from my house on a date without even saying hello, were you?" He eyed Riku sternly.

"Uh..." If I thought Riku was flustered before, it had multiplied by ten now. "No, sir. Of course not."

"Dad!" Kairi drew out the word, hands on her hips, glaring at him. "Don't go into dad mode now. They're not even your kids."

Mr. Yoshida crossed his arms and raised his chin in the air a bit. "Maybe not. But last I checked, this one is currently living in my house, and this one might as well most weeks." He gestured to me and to Riku in turn, then focused his attention back on us, smiling. "Don't worry, I'm not going to threaten you or anything. However." His face and voice grew serious again. "I do expect you to have her back home by ten o'clock, young man. And behave yourselves."

"Dad..."

Riku nodded quickly. "Yes, sir. I will. We will."

"Yes, sir," I mumbled.

"And have fun!" Mr. Yoshida smiled again, throwing me a wink. "That's important, too."

Nodding, I smiled a little back at him. "Okay."

"Alright, now get going before Mom shows up and starts taking pictures or something!" Opening the door, Kairi waved us out, and we made our escape hand in hand.

"Whew!" Riku exclaimed when were safely walking down the road toward town. "That was...awkward."

I laughed aloud, already feeling my nerves settling now that we were alone. "Yes it was. So, where are we going?"

"Dinner? Dinner sound good?"

He still sounded nervous, like I was somehow gonna say no to food, and I squeezed his hand. "Yep, dinner sounds great."

There weren't many restaurants on the island, but I hadn't yet had a chance to try any of the ones that were there. He took me to a place called Ocean Breeze, which, ironically, was about as far away from the ocean as you could get around here, but of course even that wasn't very far. They served fresh seafood caught by some of the many local fishermen. Growing up I had never been exposed to seafood too much, if you didn't count frozen fish fingers – which I quickly found out no one here did. It was common fare at the Yoshida house, though, so I had learned to like it over the last several weeks. A glance over Ocean Breeze's menu showed that the seafood here was mostly fancier than the shrimp tacos and grilled fish fillets we typically ate at home.

I ended up ordering a plate of shrimp and scallop fettuccine, the waiter took our menus and left a bowl of hot rolls, and suddenly we were left alone with no obvious subject to talk about again.

"You look nice tonight," Riku blurted suddenly. "I don't...think I said that yet."

"Oh. Thanks." I shrugged one shoulder. "Kairi made me wear some of her mascara."

"Hm. I thought something was a little different." He tilted his head to the side, looking. "It looks good. I mean I don't think you need it, but..."

I smiled a little. "Thanks. I, um...I like your jacket."

He glanced down at it. "Thanks."

_Wow. Kairi was right, we need to relax. This is ridiculous. _I picked up my water glass and chugged half of it, and the waiter magically appeared a moment later to refill it. "So...how was school today?"

"Oh, uh...it was fine, I guess. Same ol' same ol', you know." For a second I was worried that was all he would say, but then he started up again, telling me about something funny that had happened on lunch break. Thankfully, that seemed to be the ice breaker we needed. One conversation led into another after that, and we talked all the way until the food arrived and throughout the meal, too. Riku ordered a chocolate lava cake for dessert that we split, then paid the check despite my protests.

"This is what boyfriends do," he insisted.

It was dark by the time we left the restaurant, and the air had cooled, though it wasn't late enough in the year to get truly cold at night. Riku pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the time. "Well, we've still got a while until you have to be back. We could walk around some of the shops here if you want, or go down to the beach...?"

I looked up and down the street at the store fronts, considering. "Let's go to the beach, if that's okay with you." Shopping could be fun, and I knew from coming here with all four of us before that they had some cute little shops. But since we had just spent over an hour in a public space, some peace and quiet sounded nice.

Riku nodded. "The beach it is."

We talked off and on for the entire walk, swinging our joined hands between us. It wasn't until we settled down onto the sand, with Riku wrapped around me from behind, that silence fell again, and this time it was more than comfortable. His breath was warm across my cheek, his arms firm around my waist, and the crashing of the waves in the darkness probably could have lulled me to sleep eventually.

"I don't know about you, but I think this has been a pretty nice first date."

I could feel his smile where his face touched mine. "Yeah. It has." He turned further in toward me, the bridge of his nose nestling my jaw. "Though there is one thing that people usually do on dates that we haven't gotten to yet."

Before I could ask him what he meant, he was dropping little shiver-inducing kisses behind my ear and down the side of my neck, and I got a pretty good idea of where this was going. Sure enough, a moment later he shifted positions and tugged me up into his lap so that our lips could meet.

Time was a bit of a blur after that. We alternated between kissing, cuddling, and kissing some more, until Riku reluctantly announced that we should be heading back and we had to drag ourselves back onto the road toward home. I was pretty sure that my mascara was all smeared under my eyes and my lips were much redder than the shade of lipgloss I had left with, but maybe I would be lucky and not run into the Yoshidas on my way in. I winced. _Probably won't be so lucky with Kairi, though._

I scrubbed underneath my eyes as we walked up onto the porch, then smiled up at Riku when he turned to face me. "We should definitely do this again sometime."

"Oh yeah, definitely." He grasped my arms, rubbing his thumbs over my skin. "Now that we've had a first date, there will most definitely be more to come."

"I mean, if for no other reason than we don't get makeout sessions like that otherwise," I teased.

"Mm-hm." Chuckling, he bent down for one more kiss. "Goodnight, Meli. Love you."

"Love you, too." With a last smile and a little wave, I opened the door and slipped inside.

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	23. Chapter 23

** DyingofFeels: **Yay for fluff! But now the fluff is over, haha.

**Nevquariel: **Good, I'm glad you liked it and it was what you wanted!

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_Alright, guys, it's time to get ba__ck on board the angst train for the next few weeks. We're getting into the Inferno's Edge related oneshots now, though at least one more fluffy request will happen eventually (more than one if someone sends me more!). Today we have the panic attack on Meli's birthday from Riku's perspective._ **_Nevquariel _**_requested this one, as well, though it was already on my list to write._

* * *

** Chapter 10 Remix**

(Runs parallel to chapter 10)

Riku's perspective

"Anyway, I hope you like it. Or, will like it, once it's finished. I promise I'll finish it really soon."

I was well aware that my nervousness over this bike had been making me ramble for the past few minutes, but I still didn't stop until Meli's arms were around my neck. "I love it," she declared. "Even in pieces. Though I think it'll be a little easier to ride once it has two wheels."

Relief relaxed my shoulders, and I smiled as I snagged her by the waist. "Really? You really do?"

"Of course!" She raised up on her toes to kiss my lips. "How could I not like such a sweet, thoughtful gift? I've almost got the hang of the whole riding thing, too, so now I'll be ready to roll with you guys."

Her enthusiasm seemed honest, and I relaxed even more. "Yeah! Then we can all ride to school together, or to the beach, or wherever. Come on, I'll show you what I still have to do." Grabbing her by the hand, I tugged her over toward the unfinished purple bike, then stooped down next to it.

"I had to take this wheel off because the rim was bent. That's one thing that ended up taking a while, trying to straighten that out. I think I've almost got it, so that I won't have to buy a whole new one, but I need to replace a few of the spokes, too. The other thing –"

I was interrupted by Meli doubling over forward with a sound that was somewhere between a grunt and a groan. Immediately I got up on my knees and reached out toward her, but before I could even ask what was wrong she tumbled to the ground, my hand barely catching her head in time to keep it from smacking into the concrete full force. She writhed, arms still clutching her stomach, and cried out in a way that made my blood freeze. It sounded far too much like that awful moment in the Castle That Never Was. I had never wanted to hear her in that much pain again.

"Meli! Meli, what is it, what's wrong?" My hands hovered above her, not sure whether I should touch, not wanting to hurt her even more. "Talk to me, baby, what hurts?"

"No. No, please...don't..."

I swallowed hard. "Don't what? What is –?"

Her eyes flew open, staring straight up at the ceiling, and her mouth gaped wide though her breath seemed to only be coming in short gasps. Tears were pouring down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, you need to breathe, it's okay..." I tried to card my fingers through her hair like I had so many times before, but this time she jerked away like she had been burned. My hand retracted quickly, and I stared in growing fear. _Something is very wrong. What is happening? _

That's when I noticed the glazed look of panic in her eyes. I had been focused on pain, but I was suddenly struck with the realization that her mind was somewhere far away from here. _A flashback_, some random corner of my brain supplied. I didn't know for sure if that was the right term or not, but it was almost like she was having a waking nightmare.

"Meli, it's okay, you're safe." I laid my hand on her arm, but she reacted just as violently as with the hair, curling herself into a ball and covering her head with both of her arms. She had not yet made another verbal sound since her weak plea, but her hyperventilating breaths were growing louder and more desperate, almost like sobs.

I didn't know what to do. As many nightmares as I had dealt with myself, I had never seen anything like this before, and I had no idea how to help her. For a moment I just sat, watching her with wide, watery eyes, complete helplessness and horror keeping me in place. _What do I do? What do I do? _I couldn't stand seeing her like this. _Maybe I should go get help. _But from whom? My mom was the only one nearby, and I didn't see her knowing how to deal with this, either. Besides, there was no way I could leave Meli alone like this.

Finally, in an act of pure desperation, I jumped over her prone figure and laid down on the cold, hard floor behind her, and proceeded to wrap her up as tightly as I could in as many places as I could. _She needs to know I'm here. _That's all I could think of to do, let her know that I was there and she was safe. "I'm here, Meli. I'm here. It's me, Grim. You're safe."

She flailed as hard as she could, trying to get away, and I almost reconsidered and pulled back. Instead, I curled even further over her, my forehead pressing into the top of her head and my legs folded over hers, trying to keep her from hurting herself.

"It's okay, you're okay!" I kept repeating the same few phrases over and over again in whatever random order they happened to spill out, pleading inwardly with her to come back to me. Still she struggled against me, panting so rapidly that I was afraid she would end up passing out.

"Meli! Meli, I'm here! It's me, it's Grim. Listen to me. You're alright. I'm here."

Suddenly she stopped. I could feel her trembling all over beneath me, but the kicking and pushing came to a halt, and her breathing quieted ever so slightly. I almost stopped, too, not wanting to jinx the progress, but forced myself to keep up my mantra at a whisper. "It's alright. You're safe. You're right here with me."

Her muscles were still completely tense, but it felt like we had maybe gotten through the worst of it, especially as her breaths seemed to slow bit by bit over the next few minutes. Then I glanced down and saw her picking furiously at the skin around one of her fingernails with her teeth, leaving traces of blood behind.

"Hey, stop that, you'll hurt yourself." I clutched her fingers and gently, despite her resistance, pulled her hand back down.

She shook me off, but didn't go back to biting. Instead, a moment later, she was grabbing onto my wrist and shoving it backwards away from her waist, mumbling something that I mostly couldn't understand but that ended in "sick".

I let her go, realizing that she was trying to get up, but scrambled quickly to my feet after her and followed her closely as she just barely managed to make it out the door before bringing up her lunch. Using both hands, I brushed her hair back out of her face, and this time she didn't seem to mind.

"You're okay. It's gonna be okay."

She retched for quite some time, but eventually straightened with effort and stumbled back into my arms, weak and exhausted. Leading her away from the sick, I pulled her against me and slid down the wall of the shed where we could both rest.

"Are you cold?" She still hadn't stopped trembling, but she shook her head no to answer.

"'m sorry..." Her voice was so quiet that I could barely even hear, but I could tell that she was trying to apologize, as usual.

"Shh, don't." There were so many things I wanted to ask, so much that needed to be talked about, but she was clearly not in the right physical or mental state to do so right now. I laid my hand on the side of her face and tucked her head underneath my chin, as if I could shelter her from everything that was troubling her. "Just rest. We'll talk later."

* * *

**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	24. Chapter 24

** Nevquariel: **Your wish is my command! ;)

**Angie-ange: **Hey, welcome back! Thanks for the request...that is definitely on my list, and will be coming up in a few weeks!

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_Today's oneshot is a continuation of last week's – Riku's perspective of the very next chapter. When I was writing the last one, I debated whether to continue into chapter 11, but ultimately decided not to even though I was kind of tempted. Then _**_Nevquariel _**_requested that I do so! So here it is...angsty post-birthday panic attack, as told by Riku._

* * *

**Chapter 11 ReMix**

(Runs parallel to chapter 11)

_Riku's perspective_

It took a long time before Meli stopped shaking in my arms and I could no longer hear every single breath she drew. My thoughts were in a meaningless whirl for most of that time. _What just happened? Is she okay? What prompted that? Has this happened before? _

Of course I hadn't found an answer to any of those questions by the time she finally pushed herself up off of my chest. I released her reluctantly, watching her closely as she sat up and laid her arms across her propped up knees, afraid that somehow she still wasn't alright and this whole ordeal would start all over again.

Before I could decide whether it was okay to speak, and what in the world I would even say, her lips parted and a barely audible apology came out. An apology. Again. I knew that that idiot Aiden was probably the one who made her feel like she needed to apologize all the time for everything, but sometimes it was frustrating, listening to her say she was sorry for so many things that weren't at all her fault, especially when I tried my hardest each and every day to make her feel loved and important and accepted.

This was one of those times, and I couldn't stop the loud sigh in time. "Sorry for what?"

"Sorry that...you had to see that. I didn't want you to...I never thought..."

She paused, searching for her words, but I could already feel my frustration climbing. _Why can't you think more of yourself? You just went through a literal nightmare, and all you can think of now is to be sorry that I had to see it? Don't you know by now I only care about you? What am I doing wrong, that you still don't get it?_

"I didn't think it would happen...with you. It's usually just a school thing and...a nighttime thing. With you I usually feel safe. So, I didn't think you'd ever have to see it."

And there it was, the confirmation of what I had been fearing over the last half-hour or so. "Are you telling me that this has happened before? More than once?"

She turned her head a little further away from me. "A...a few times. Though this was definitely the worst."

"How many times has it happened?" _Why? Why wouldn't you tell me?_

"Well, it's always different. I mean, sometimes it's just like a mini-version...I don't always completely lose touch with reality, sometimes I just get kinda jumpy, sometimes it's somewhere in between..."

Her rambling was only serving to increase my worry about how long this had been going on, and my anger at myself for not noticing sooner. "How many times?"

She dropped her head down onto her arms, and I wondered for a moment if she was going to answer. "A bunch," she finally mumbled. "Once a week or so to start with, now it's...every couple of days at least."

_Every couple of days?_ My mind blanked out for a few seconds at that information, then came back full throttle. _All those times at lunch or after school when she was acting weird..._

"And nightmares that wake me up every single night."

_She's been suffering alone for who knows how long, why didn't she tell me? Why would she do this to herself? Nightmares. She knows I have nightmares. We've talked about my nightmares. We promised we would talk about these things, but she lied. Why? Does she not trust me? Is it something I'm doing wrong, that she won't talk to me? Why do I always have to force these things out of her? Why can't she just talk to me?_

My thoughts were such a frantic mess that it was a miracle I was able to keep my voice steady and level when I spoke again. "Meli, why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated automatically, and my false calm was gone.

"I don't want an apology! I want to know why! You promised me that you would tell me about these things, but you've been lying to me ever since. Every time I ask you how you're feeling and you say, 'Fine.' Every time I try to find out what's been going on with you and you tell me it's 'just stress'. It's all been lies!"

I was barely even finished with my tirade when she got to her feet and took off at a quick but stumbling walk across the yard, back toward the house, and I knew immediately that I had screwed up. _Crap._ _Great job, Riku, you're such a great boyfriend. No wonder she doesn't want to talk to you._

"Meli! Meli, wait, don't... I'm sorry!"

She didn't stop, didn't reply, just kept walking until she had disappeared around the side of my house. I let a curse slip out under my breath, directed at myself and the whole situation, never at her, then got up and ran after her. She was still walking, though not back toward her house or the beach, but down some random side street.

Catching up, I cut in front of her and reached out to stop her with my hands on her shoulders. Her arms stayed folded and her chin was down on her chest, but that didn't keep me from seeing the tears that were streaking down her cheeks.

"Meli, I'm sorry. I know you hate it when I raise my voice at you. I didn't mean to, I'm just..." _No good at this. I'm no good at this. _"Come here." I pulled her into me, wrapping my arms around her back, and she let her own arms drop to her sides for a moment before eventually reaching up and grabbing fistfuls of my shirt. "You didn't deserve to be scolded, especially not after what you just went through. It's just...I'm a little shaken, honestly, from seeing that happen to you. And it upsets me to know that you've been going through all of this alone, when I could have been helping you if you had just told me. I'm your boyfriend. That's what I'm here for."

"I really am sorry." Her voice and sniffles were muffled by my chest. "I guess I just...I don't know how. I told you we both sucked at sharing."

"Yeah, but you've been making me do it anyway. This is supposed to be a two-way relationship, remember? That doesn't just mean checking in with me, that also means telling me the truth about yourself."

She nodded. "I know. I've just been so...confused, and embarrassed, and I didn't know what you would do or think, and I kept hoping it would get better and instead it's getting worse. And I've been saying that it was just stress because as far as I know that's what it is, but...I don't know how to fix it."

I wanted to address the part where she said she didn't know what I would do, but I hoped that my actions from now on would speak for themselves. "Well, I don't know what it is, but I don't see how in the world it could just be stress. Were you feeling stressed just now, in there?" I waved a hand in the general direction of my backyard.

Stepping back, she wiped her face with the heel of her hand. "No, but that doesn't mean anything. Stress can affect you for an extended period of time–"

"Stress does not make you collapse on the ground screaming in the middle of a pleasant conversation, and have no idea where you are or who's around you."

Her reddening cheeks and the crack of her voice told me I had been a bit too harsh with that statement. "We don't know that..."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." _Like I said, no good at this. I can't keep letting my anxiety over this affect her. _Absentmindedly, I brushed some hair away from her face. "Where were you, anyway? It was almost like you were having a nightmare, but wide awake."

"Yeah, that...pretty much describes it," she muttered. "Except add in feeling like you're having a heart attack or suffocating or something on top of that." She glanced up at me, then cut her gaze to the ground. "Like I said, though, every time is different. Not every one includes...memories. Sometimes it's just the physical stuff. Kinda generally feeling scared, for no reason."

I made a mental note of all the symptoms she mentioned, resolving to try to look them up as soon as I could. "Memories. Of...being back there?"

Her reaction was answer enough. Gasping a breath that sounded more like a sob, she buried her face in her hands and shook her head back and forth violently. "I can't..."

My heart leapt into my throat, afraid I had accidentally triggered a repeat of the event, and I quickly embraced her again. "Shh, it's okay. I'm sorry. I'm not gonna make you talk about it."

For a few minutes we stayed silent. I listened to her breathing, which stayed steady other than an occasional shudder, and assured myself that she would be alright. _I need to get her mind off of all of this. _"Why don't we go back inside? You can wash your face off if you'd like, and I'll fix your finger, and then we can just rest, maybe watch a movie or something. I can text your family, let them know that you're not feeling well. They'll understand."

It took a moment before there was any kind of response, and when it came it was not at all what I was expecting. Shaking her head slightly, she ducked out from under my arms and walked away, still headed down that same random street. For a second I just watched her, dumbfounded, before calling out.

"Meli, wait! Where are you going?"

"Away."

_What? What does that mean? _I started running again, catching up to her quickly and falling into line beside her. "I don't understand. What did I say?" _Now? What did I say now? I thought a distraction and some rest was what she needed._

"Nothing. I just...need to go away."

She wouldn't look at me, and she was acting so strangely. I could tell that something bad was going through her head, but I couldn't even hazard a guess as to what. Speeding up a little, I cut in front of her again, facing her. "Why? Don't do this again. Don't hide what you're feeling. Tell me what's going on."

To my chagrin, she stepped around me and kept going. "I don't want you to feel like you have to take care of me."

_Okay, well, at least she's talking while she's running away. _"I don't 'feel like I have to'. I want to."

"Why, because I'm your girlfriend? I'm fine. I don't need to be taken care of."

I narrowed my eyes at her retreating form. _So I insulted her by offering my help? _That was definitely something we needed to talk about, but maybe not right now. Breaking into a jog once more, I got beside her again. "Okay, fine. If you don't want me to take care of you, I won't. We can just go back to the party, or whatever you want."

She stopped so suddenly that I ended up a couple of steps in front of her. When I turned to face her, she was finally making eye contact, but it didn't last long. Her red, swollen eyes cut away and settled somewhere in the area of my collarbone, and her fists were clenched by her sides. "You don't have to come with me. You need to just...let me go."

_I need to...wait, what? _The realization of what she was saying hit me like a punch to the gut. "Are you...trying to break up with me?" _Did I really screw up that badly? She can't really mean...surely we can fix this...I know I can do better..._

She shut her eyes and tightened her jaw. "No, I...I couldn't." That sent relief flooding through me, but her next sentence threw me for a loop again. "I'm...just trying to make it easier for you to break up with me."

"What? Why would I do that?" She was walking away again, and I was getting really tired of this whole chasing game. I knew that she was upset and overwhelmed, but for once today, I just wanted to have an honest, open conversation without having to guess what she was thinking. Snatching her hand up, I planted my feet and held on tight, refusing to let her get away. "Would you please stop? Stop walking away, and let's just talk. Why would you think that I would want to break up with you?"

"Because I'm not the girl you fell in love with. That girl is gone, and neither of us know whether she can ever come back. All that's left of me now is this...mess that I've become, and you're way too good a person to be tied down to that. I know you, and you'd never say any of this yourself, so I'm saying it for you. I'm damaged goods, probably a hopeless cause. You should leave me now, and save yourself the trouble." The last thing she said came out as little more than a whisper. "I'll be okay, as long as I know that you're happy."

I had wanted to stop her at least half a dozen times during all of that, but she was finally talking so I let her say her piece. When she was done, though, I acted swiftly, coming around in front of her and grasping her face in my hands, tipping it up so that she could see the honesty in my face. "First of all, you are not damaged goods. You're not any kind of goods, you're a person. That person is who I fell in love with, and people change. It's just a part of life. Did I love your personality back then? Yes. Do I still love your personality now? Yes. I'm not the same as when you first met me either, am I?"

"No," she whispered.

"But I take it that you still love me, right?" When she nodded, I smiled, and brushed away a tear from her cheek with my thumb. "Good. So I don't want to hear anymore about 'that girl', because you are still her where it really matters." _Passionate. Stubborn. Adorable. Maybe one of these days I'll make her a list. _"And I don't want you calling yourself a hopeless cause, either. Can whatever this is be fixed? I don't know. For your sake I hope so, of course. But even if it can't, we'll get through it. Together. Because if you really want me to be happy, then you might as well just get used to the fact that I'm gonna be with you for a long time."

Loving Meli wasn't easy, had never been easy, and today I had learned that it was probably going to get even harder. But I couldn't imagine myself ever being this happy with anyone else.

The corners of her mouth lifted ever so slightly, her wet cheeks shining in the waning sunlight. "Okay." It wasn't much, but it was enough. I could tell that, at least for now, she was at peace with her place in my heart.

"Now...did you want to go for that movie I mentioned, or would you rather go back to your house? Or..." Moving my hands from her face down to her shoulders, I shot a dubious look down the road we had been traveling. "Keep going wherever it is you were going?"

She practically collapsed against my chest, clearly exhausted. "I think a movie sounds nice."

I smiled into her hair, then bent over and scooped her up into my arms. Her forehead was pleasantly warm beneath my lips when I kissed it. "Alright, Sunshine. A movie it is."

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Enamis09: **Hey, welcome back! Sorry that you had a bad 2 weeks.

Hmm...advice for writing a novel...read a lot, and take note of what you like and don't like from other author's stories. Edit, edit, edit – the greatest storyline can be completely ruined by poor grammar and spelling. Bad structuring can also turn people off to your story, so make sure you know where paragraph breaks should go.

And as for more creative advice, vary your sentence lengths to help with the flow of the story. I have to force myself to write shorter sentences sometimes, so that all the longer sentences don't get monotonous (though shorter sentences are much easier when writing dialogue). Also, try to vary the types of words your sentences and paragraphs start with – don't start everything with "he" or "she" or a characters' name, make sure to sometimes start with "ing" and "ly" words, and words like "as", "before", "when", etc.

Hope that helps! Good luck with your writing!

**DyingofFeels: **Ah, midterms. Fun stuff. Glad you liked the last chapter! Yes, I do have that request written down, though I'm glad you brought it up because I couldn't remember who exactly had requested it ha. I'm going pretty much in chronological order for right now, so that will come up in a couple of weeks, probably.

**Nevquariel: **Yay, I'm glad you liked it! That's a good request, I hadn't thought of doing anything like that. Yeah, it's true that I do have to take time away from working on book 3 in order to work on these oneshots, but I think I've mentioned to you before that sometimes I need the break. Book 3 is actually going a little better right now than it has been...I've had a lack of inspiration for this book for some reason, but I'm in a section of it currently that is a bit easier. Thanks for asking!

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_Since today's oneshot is not a request, I guess I can technically say this is "the Lea's perspective that nobody asked for". Every time I write from a different characters POV, particularly that of a canon character, it's a new challenge. I had fun with Lea! In fact I think this chapter may have turned out to be one of my favs. Even though whenever I decide to write one of these in third person I always end up switching back automatically to first person like fifty times and have to go back and fix it lol._

_ This chapter takes place while Meli is in the training world with Lea and Kairi. You'll recognize it several paragraphs in._

_**EDIT 3/19:** Sorry guys, I forgot to include a **TRIGGER WARNING** for this chapter...brief mention of suicidal thoughts._

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**Chapter 28 ReMix**

(Runs parallel to chapter 28)

_Lea's perspective_

_Blah blah blah blah connect to your heart, feel it in your fingers, channel through your Keyblade, blah blah blah. _It had been the same spiel for like, forever, not only today, but every time he tried to learn one of these fancy-schmancy magic things, and he was getting so tired of hearing it. Sure, maybe it worked for like, basic stuff, like Blizzard and whatever, but clearly it was not working today, and clearly Meli was not getting that it was not working today. Sometimes the girl just didn't know when to give up. Him? He was cool with giving up. He could tell when something was just not going to click, at least not right away. It was far better to give up, take a break, come back to it another day, than to push himself to the point of explosion, which he was currently very close to reaching.

He had tried to tell her that, like, twenty minutes ago, at least. But of course, she had just interpreted that to mean that he was being lazy and not trying hard enough. Which, granted, he was a pretty lazy person most of the time, and had tried to get out of quite a few training sessions over the past several weeks in a variety of ways. So, touché. Guess he asked for that one. And knowing her, and her – should he go so far as to say hatred? – let's stick with intense dislike for him, she probably thought that he wasn't getting it now because he was still trying to get out of doing it.

"Again."

Sucking in a breath through his teeth to try to squelch his rising frustration, he set his face and started the sequence from the beginning...and failed, again. In the exact same way that he had failed every other time. Meli crossed her arms, looking thoroughly ticked off, and he turned his back on her, head tipped back toward the sky as he put some space in between them.

_I swear, if I hear the word "connect" one more time..._

"You're still not connecting your heart with your Keyblade."

_That's it. _Throwing his arms out to the side, he let the flames that had been simmering beneath his skin burst out with a roar. He didn't pay much attention to the size of it, but knew just based on the amount of tension that went into it that it was a veritable inferno. Only a few seconds later, he let it die out to nothing, already feeling so much calmer.

Well, until Meli yelled, "What the crap, Axel?" and he turned around to see that the cabin they had been living in was on fire. He swore, wide-eyed and stunned. _I just set our cabin on fire._

It's not like he hadn't seen plenty of fire in his life. He was "The Flurry of Dancing Flames", for crying out loud. And, you know, there was that time he had kinda killed himself with a little too much fire. But he hadn't ever accidentally set anything on fire before. Okay, fine, not in a long time, anyway. Not since he first got the ability. Whatever, he hadn't ever accidentally set something important on fire before. Like their temporary home, with all their stuff inside.

Meli had rushed forward and was shooting ice all over the roof of the cabin. He knew he should be helping, but she was using like, third tier magic, and his pitiful first tier would have basically amounted to throwing snowballs at it. Even her Blizzarga or whatever the heck it was called didn't seem to be doing a whole lot of good – the fire was moving much too fast for her to keep up with.

"I'll be right back. You stay here, and cast Blizzard at anything that gets past the cabin!"

He nodded without thinking, then did a double-take as she took off running through the open door, into the burning building. "Wait...Meli! What the...?" _Is there really anything in there that's important enough to go after? I mean, I hate for her and Kairi to lose their stuff, but..._ And how was he supposed to actually stop this thing from turning into a forest fire? Did she really think Blizzard was gonna do the trick?

Apparently he was about to find out, because flaming chips of wood were starting to fly off the building and land in the grass around it. Thankfully it was nothing too big so far, so his spells actually worked to put them out. He focused solely on that, determined not to let his mess turn into an actual complete disaster.

After a couple of minutes, though, Meli crossed his mind again. Surely she should have been back by then. More and more of the cabin was getting engulfed by the second, and he didn't like thinking about what could have happened or what might happen very very soon if she didn't get out of there. He rocked back and forth from one foot to the other, antsy to go find her, but not wanting to neglect his duty to keep the fire from spreading. _If something else catches while I'm in there, she could put it out once I bring her back, right? If she's okay, that is. And of course if she's perfectly okay and I go get her and something catches on fire then she's gonna be mad at me. Not that she's not already._

He was still undecided when a large chunk of the roof cracked and gave in. Then he didn't even need to decide. His feet were moving as fast as they could go before the last piece even fell. _Forget this, I'm not letting anybody else die from my mistakes._

The smoke inside was like trying to see through fogged up glass, but as he crossed through the front part of the cabin that had belonged to him, he spotted her silhouette just on the other side of the doorway. She was just...standing there. "What are you doing? Come on!" He raised his voice to be heard over the fire, latching onto her wrist and yanking her back toward safety.

It was just in the nick of time, too, because as soon as they were out the door, the rest of the roof collapsed. Meli dropped down to her hands and knees in the grass, letting out painful-sounding hacks, and he crossed quickly behind her to beat out the tiny flames and glowing embers that dotted the upper back and sleeves of her shirt. The skin that was visible through the holes left behind was bright red and swollen. After a moment she tried to pull away, but he gave one last pat for good measure before leaving her alone.

Coughing a bit himself, he allowed himself to drop down onto the ground, still facing the cabin so he could keep an eye on things trying to escape. Despite feeling suddenly exhausted, he was still unnerved at the way he had found Meli. "Have you lost your mind? Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Yes."

He almost choked. "Wait...yes to which one?"

"Possibly both."

_Possibly...what? _It wasn't that he didn't know the chick had issues, that much was pretty clear, though he had no idea what exactly her issues were or where they had come from. But he hadn't thought...did she really want...? He watched her pick up what looked like a photo from the pile of stuff she had dropped on the ground and stare at it like it was the only thing that existed in the world, and wondered not for the first time what kinds of things really went through this girl's head.

She glanced up at him, finally, coughing once more, though thankfully without sounding like she was dying this time. "So what was your excuse? Because last time I checked I wasn't the only one in there."

_Seriously? _He groaned and massaged his forehead against the headache he could feel encroaching. "I went in there to save your neck, you idiot!"

"I didn't ask you to save me," she hissed.

"Well, yeah, clearly not, since you were apparently trying to die!" She flinched a little at that, and he sighed, standing up. "If it makes you feel any better, my reasons were purely selfish. I was the one who started the fire, and I...couldn't stand having any more deaths on my conscience."

She didn't answer. Of course she didn't. He wasn't sure why he bothered trying to open up to her, even a little bit, when she was never going to do the same to him. Not that he should take that part personally, since he was pretty sure she didn't open up to anybody. Maybe Riku, from what he had heard. But Riku wasn't there.

She was still sitting on the ground with that picture in her hands when he turned back to look at her. "Are you at least gonna heal those burns?" The most visible one on her arm didn't look quite as bad as the ones on her back, but it certainly didn't look good. "I'd do it myself, but you know I still suck at Cure."

"They're not that bad."

_Not that...really? Okay, we're apparently going there. "_Come on, don't do that."

"Do what?" She clearly wasn't happy with him for trying to tell her what to do, but somebody needed to intervene.

"Punish yourself for who knows what crime you feel like you've committed. I've been there. I know how it works, and it's pointless." The fact that the memories were still painful was one proof of that.

The look that she leveled at him was pure wrath. "You don't know anything about me."

"That's because you won't let me! You don't know anything about me, either, yet you've apparently decided I'm evil."

"I know plenty."

He scoffed and turned away. "Okay, whatever. You know, maybe if you tried sleeping a little more instead of sneaking out every night, you wouldn't feel the need to stand in a burning building. See, I do know more about you than you think."

They were saved from further conversation by the arrival of Kairi, which also forced Meli to have to actually heal herself, much to his relief. He didn't know why he even cared. It was his fire, yeah, but that wasn't really what he was worried about then. He just...didn't like seeing someone else hurting themselves like that, especially somebody who probably hadn't actually done anything to deserve it. Apparently the girl's issues ran deeper than he thought. In a way that kinda made him feel better, since that meant it wasn't just him that was the problem. But really, he just hoped that at some point she'd actually let somebody help her.

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	26. Author's Note

**DyingofFeels: **Yeah, I guess Axel was feeling kind of optimistic haha. Glad you liked it!

**OmegaRetcon:** Always great to hear from someone new! No, it's not an awkward request at all. I don't mind going back to Sorrow's Promise. What I'll probably do is finish the ones that will be in chronological order, then go back and do any that are out of order after that. It's a good request!

Also, thank you so much for your compliments on my series! Ha yes, I know what you mean about the inconsistency of most people's updating schedules. That's one reason I always write the entire story first, before I start posting, so that I can be consistent. Plus, most of the time I don't know everything that's going to happen when I start writing (or in the case of the third book in this series, I know very little of what's going to happen!), so I'll end up going back and changing parts of the beginning once I figure out the end. Anyway, I'm glad you've been enjoying, and thank you for leaving a review to let me know!

**coolmegan123:** Yes, at some point I might have to write a story that focuses more on Lea and Isa post KH2, because their story fascinates me. I couldn't get too much into what was going on with them in this series, but I wanted to at least allude to it here and there (though we will get a little more of them in the 3rd story). I'm glad you liked it!

**Nevquariel: **He's probably my second favorite character after Riku, too! Although I think it's a tie between Lea and Isa. That's a good idea...I'd probably go with Lea's POV, if for no other reason than I've written a lot of Riku's POV at this point.

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Okay, guys...first off, I apologize for not updating this week without any warning. After I posted last week's oneshot, I decided that it would be best from now on if I only update this every other week. I still have several ideas/requests left, but I also still have a loooong way left to go on the third book, so chances are we're going to run out of oneshots before it's time to post the book. The other reason is that I end up using one or two of my writing sessions per week working on a oneshot, which is time taken away from working on the book. So, even though I know you guys will be disappointed to have to wait longer for updates, it's going to work out in everyone's favor in the end.

Speaking of the third book...somebody (I can't remember who off the top of my head) asked me how it was going, and I answered them last Wed and said that it was currently going alright and I had found some inspiration. Ha. Haha. Hahahahahaha. *cries* *tosses book out into the void in hopes that someone will tell me what to do with it* **(╯°□°****）╯︵ ┻━┻ ** Okay so it's not that bad. Today. It was, like, two days after I said it was going okay. I finished the portion that I had inspiration for and ran into a brick wall of what should come next, then started second guessing all of the vague ideas and maybes that I had come up with for the rest of the book. After a couple of days of that, I came to the conclusion that I was maybe going to have to give up a couple of ideas/moments that I really liked for the sake of the whole book, and because of that came up with a slightly different direction to go with it for now. So I've backtracked a few chapters (keeping the ones that I had already written in a separate document just in case - if they don't end up in the final story you guys will probably get at least some of them as oneshots after the book is finished posting), and am doing okay again for now. Just...wish me luck.

So. Having said all that...as an apology for springing this extended update schedule on you with no warning, have a couple of links to some KH-related craziness that my sisters and I made after playing ReMind. In case you ever wanted to know what kind of gamers we are, aka what our weird sense of humor is like when we're together. The first one is the pictures we created on the "Data Greeting" portion of ReMind. The second is a slideshow of our favorite selfies from KH3. As always, remove all spaces from the link and replace dotcom with the real thing. You can also just go to Instagram and search for actress4Him (let me know if you follow me! I've got all these random people I don't know following me on there, and I have no idea if any of them are you guys or not), and go to YouTube and search for Marissa Smylie (my sister's account).

instagram dotcom/ p/ B8cECFpg7Yn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

youtu . be /9N51gPYwLeI

Hope everyone has a great week! Stay well and stay home! I'll be back next Wednesday with a request from **DyingofFeels**!


	27. Chapter 27

** xOneSkyx: **Thanks for the offer! There have been many times that I have thought about asking someone to help me with this story, but I don't want to spoil anything for my readers, and I don't want to force someone new to read the whole series to catch up ha. If I get desperate I will let you know, though.

**Nevquariel: **This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever written. It's more difficult than regular fanfiction because there's no actual canon to follow, but also more difficult than an original work because there are still certain things I have to include. And this series is definitely the longest thing I've ever written, too! I think I will be sticking with much shorter things for a while after this is done. Anyway, I didn't get much written last week because my husband was off of work (thanks to covid19) and we were working on projects around the house. This week I'm making...slow progress. But it's progress.

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_Alright, back this week with an actual update! Thanks, everyone, for your understanding._

_ Quick note before we start, if any of you happen to be in the Voltron fandom, I posted my first work over there last night...the first part of a three-shot called "Abyss". Don't worry, I'm not neglecting the third book! This was something I mostly wrote a while back when I was completely stuck on everything else, and I have added to it and edited it when I needed a break from DoD. _

_ As I promised, this week is a request from **DyingofFeels. **They originally mentioned in a review that they hoped we got to see Kairi and Zephyr meet. Of course no one knew at that point what I was going to do to poor Zeph...and I actually didn't intend at the time for the two of them to ever meet. But I realized that there actually was an opportunity for them to do so, and promised to write a oneshot about it. I wasn't really sure where to go with it after a while so the ending may be a little awkward, but...meh._

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**Chapter 39.5**

(Takes place in the middle of chapter 39)

_Kairi's perspective_

When Kairi finally walked through Merlin's magic door and back into the real world for the first time in months, her mind was thoroughly preoccupied with thoughts of the coming war. After all, that's what they had spent all this time training for, and why Merlin was finally letting them leave. Master Yen Sid had called for everyone to convene at his tower, which meant that the battle would probably be starting very soon. She thought she was ready. She hoped she was ready. If she wasn't ready, then she or her friends could pay for it with their lives, and she would never forgive herself if one of them died or even got hurt because of her inexperience. But she and Lea had both come a really long way since they first entered the training world, and Merlin seemed pleased with where they were, so she was going to choose to believe that everything was going to be okay.

She was so lost in these solemn thoughts that the last thing she expected to see walking into Merlin's cottage was one of her very best friends standing there. Her face lit up and she broke into a run, skirting past two of the strangers in the room and throwing her arms around his neck. "Sora!"

Nearly losing his balance, he waved his arms around awkwardly as if unsure what to do with them. She could hear him sputtering in her ear. And okay, maybe she was being a little forward here, but it wasn't like they'd never hugged before. It always took him a few seconds to get over his embarrassment in moments like this and actually hug her back.

"Sora, I'm so glad you're here! I didn't expect to see you until we got to the tower. I've missed you so much!"

"Err...um...I...uh..."

Kairi flushed a little as she realized how uncomfortable she was obviously making him, and released him to step back. It hurt a little, that he wasn't okay with something as simple as a hug after they had been apart for so long, but she wasn't going to push him. Cutting her eyes to the side, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. "Um, anyway...it really is good to see you again. I know it hasn't felt like as long for you as it has for me, but..."

When she glanced back up at him, he was still just standing there, gaping. _Maybe he's just really surprised to see me? Maybe it's my haircut._ She didn't really expect him to even notice that right away. But speaking of which... "Did you cut your hair? That's a dumb question, obviously you cut your hair." It was much, much shorter than she had ever seen it before, with no more spikes at all. "It's just surprising, you've had basically the same hairstyle for as long as I can remember." She couldn't decide whether she liked it or not. He was still cute, obviously, but she kind of missed the spikes. One hand reached out, almost of its own volition, wanting to run its fingers through the short locks, but she managed to stop it before it actually reached his head and yanked it back into herself.

He just continued to stare at her like she had grown a moustache in his absence. "I..."

A new figure appeared beside them, and Kairi looked over to find the tall brunette girl that she had nearly shoved past earlier in her eagerness to get to Sora. The girl smiled, looking almost embarrassed, and laid a gentle hand on both of their shoulders. Her gaze flicked back and forth between them. "So, um...did Meli happen to mention the whole...doppelganger situation?"

_Doppelganger? What does that have to do with this...? Oh. Oh no. Please don't tell me..._

"She mentioned that she had a twin sister...?" the boy who she was no longer sure was Sora mumbled.

The girl smiled that awkward, embarrassed smile again. "Right. So...Zephyr, meet Kairi. Kairi, Zephyr."

Kairi's face had gone completely red, a matching shade to Zephyr's neck and ears. Opening her mouth, she tried to come up with something to say in response, but came up blank.

"It's an honest mistake that anyone would make," the girl was quick to soothe. "In fact, we all thought he was Sora when he first came here, too. It took us quite a while to sort everything out."

"Yeah, it did." Zephyr smiled now, too, and shrugged. "Didn't help that Mel just kinda dumped me off here with no warning about the whole doppelganger thing. So, um...you're her sister?"

Shaking herself out of her shocked state, Kairi nodded and scrunched her dress up in her hands. "Um, yeah. Well, uh, technically I'm her doppelganger, actually, but to everyone else we're twins."

"Oh right, that makes sense." He nodded, then paused and scrunched his face up. "I think."

Kairi couldn't help but laugh. He really did look just like Sora, right down to his facial expressions. "Yeah, it's all pretty confusing. I think Meli is the only one who can actually fully keep up. Maybe one day we'll all meet each other, then it will all make sense."

Zephyr grinned brightly. "That would be fun! I'd like to meet the other me some day!"

"I know he'd love to meet you, too. Just, um..." She clasped her hands behind her back and ground the ball of her shoe into the floor. "Don't tell him I thought you were him, alright?"

"Hm..." He struck a familiar pose, obviously making a big deal out of having to think it over. "Oh, okay. I guess I can do that."

She smirked. "Thanks."

"Hey Princess," Lea called from the doorway of the house. "We better get a move on."

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Zephyr cocked an eyebrow in Lea's direction, then turned his attention back to Kairi. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Her eyes blew wide open. "What? No! No no no no no. Nothing like that. Lea's just a...a friend." The thought of Lea as a boyfriend...she wasn't sure whether to laugh or shudder. He was a great guy. Just...not her type. At all. "Anyway, I better go, I guess. It was really nice to meet you, Zephyr."

"Nice to meet you, too, Kairi. Hey, if you see your sister, remind her that she owes me a visit."

Kairi had already started backing away toward the door, but she stopped then and frowned. "Hey Zephyr...how did she seem? When you saw her?"

"Mel? Um..." He twisted his lips in thought. "Mostly okay. She seemed...stressed. I guess that's the best word for it. But, you know, she was going through some pretty stressful stuff at the time. Lots of bad guys out there. Apparently she thought I'd be safer here." He shrugged, not seeming too happy about being left behind.

Kairi nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. I hope she's okay. Thanks, Zephyr."

He gave a little wave. "See you again soon?"

"Yeah, I hope so!" she smiled, waving back.

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!**


	28. Chapter 28

** DyingofFeels: **Yay, I'm so glad you liked it! I wasn't super sure about it, but if you liked it, as the requester, then that's what matters!

** Coolmegan123:** Ah yes, guy friends are the best, honestly. I don't really have any at this point in my life that I'm close to, other than my husband of course lol, but I have def had several "bro" friends in the past. Anyway, yeah, I love how Lea calls her Princess, but it occurred to me that a stranger would take that a totally different way. Glad you liked the chapter!

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_ Confession: this is the only thing I managed to write this week. I know, I know. With this whole quarantine thing I should have tons of time to write, right? But honestly my schedule has gotten so thrown off because my husband got furloughed from work and is home all the time...plus my Etsy shop, which isn't generally very busy, got 2 different orders in the past couple of weeks that I've had to spend my free time making...plus dying and hunting eggs with the kiddos this weekend...yeah. I'll try to do better this week._

_ Anyway, here's a Riku's perspective of Meli's stalker-ish phone call right before the final battle._

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**Chapter 40 ReMix**

(Runs parallel to chapter 40)

_Riku's perspective_

"But I'm not done yet. Got one last thing to see through."

For a moment I watched as my replica stared out across the ocean, recognizing the determination in the set of his jaw. I huffed a small laugh. "Take the time you need."

Silence fell over the beach, but it didn't last for long before a shrill ringing pierced through the air. Jolting out of my thoughts, I glanced over at the now empty stretch of sand where he had been sitting as I pulled my phone from my pocket. Any part of my mind that was still lingering on my replica, however, was quickly forgotten about when I saw the name on the screen. I punched the green button as fast as I could and brought the phone up to my ear.

"Meli." There was no keeping the relief to hear from her out of my voice. There were so many things that I needed to say to her, but now I couldn't seem to think of how to say any of them. "You uh...you got your phone." _Duh. Reward for most obvious statement of the year goes to Riku._

"Yeah." It was so good to hear her voice again. We had been apart far too much recently. "I...I'm sorry about yesterday. I hate fighting with you."

"Yeah...I hate it, too." And I hated that the way she said that made it obvious that nothing had changed with her since then. I couldn't apologize for wanting her to come back to the light, for being upset with her for what she had done to herself, but... "I'm sorry, too, if I...said things I shouldn't have...made you upset. I really...I'm really just worried about what's going to happen to you. You know that, right?"

A long moment passed where she said nothing, and I shut my eyes, drawing in a breath and being careful not to let the sigh that wanted to follow escape into the phone's speaker. I missed the days where she and I trusted each other implicitly and knew exactly what was going through the other's head. _When exactly did those days end? _

"Did you go see your mom today?" she asked finally, and I tried not to clench my teeth in aggravation at the subject change. Instead, I changed my position, bringing both knees up and draping my free arm over them.

"Mm-hm. We all spent the afternoon with our parents. Your uh..." I didn't want to guilt her, but at the same time, maybe a little guilt would do her some good. "Your mom and dad were asking about you, Kairi said."

"Oh." Another long pause. "Yeah, I should...call them...I guess."

"I know they'd love to hear from you." A thought crossed my mind, and I frowned out at the sunset. "How did you know I would go see my mom today?"

"Oh, um...well, you know, I had to go to Yen Sid's to pick up the phone..."

"Oh. He mentioned where we were?" I tried not to think about the fact that she sounded like she was lying.

"He said he was giving everyone the rest of the day off. I figured the rest out."

_But you didn't bother to come home yourself. _"You know, you could have come with us. Still could, since I know you can be here in two seconds flat." _Maybe an invitation is all she needs._

I shouldn't have bothered to get my hopes up. "You guys needs some peace for once," she said after a sigh. "My presence doesn't exactly promote that right now."

"Even if I promise not to fight with you?" This time I let my sigh be heard, too. "I really just want you sitting next to me right now." My arms ached with the need to hold her. "Everything else can wait until another time."

"I'm sorry. I can't right now. Tell the others I said hi, though, okay?"

The last of my hope sank down into the pit of my stomach. Nodding slightly, I massaged my forehead with one hand. "Yeah, okay."

Something made me glance up at the upper part of the island where Sora and Kairi had been sitting ever since we arrived, and it was just in time to see the two of them holding something large and star-shaped out to each other. I straightened up suddenly with a grunt of surprise. "Are they...? Meli, I think they just shared a paopu."

"Those two...they actually did it." I could hear the smile in her voice. "I can't believe it."

"It's about time." After all, it wasn't like they had been crushing on each other for years now, and trying their best to ignore all of mine and Meli's attempts to shove them toward one another. Oh wait, it was exactly like that.

"How come we've never shared a paopu?"

My automatic response was to huff out a laugh. "I don't know. I guess because we're not hopeless romantics like the two of them? I figured you thought it was stupid." I had always kinda thought it was stupid, myself...cute, maybe, but not overly important in an actual relationship.

"Yeah, I mean...I do, I guess." Something in her tone grabbed my attention. "You're right, it's pretty silly." The second time she had lied during this conversation. "Good for them, though."

_Uh-oh. _ Had I messed up? Had she been wanting us to share one this whole time and I had just never noticed? "Do you –?"

She spoke over me before I could finish my question. "I, um...I should go. I just wanted to let you know that...I'll be there tomorrow. At the final battle. I'm very ready to kick some Organization butt, so...I'll see you there."

I really hadn't expected anything less, even though the thought of her using the darkness and fighting the Organization terrified me. "Okay. I...I'll see you there." I scratched the back of my head, debating my next words. "Um, Meli...?"

"Yeah?"

"Just..." I dropped my hand to the side and dug my fingers into the sand. "Just be careful. That's all."

I almost didn't hear her agreement over the sound of yelping and a burst of laughter from up above me. Snapping my attention up to the paopu tree, I caught the tail end of Sora falling to the ground quite dramatically, kicking up sand everywhere.

Meli laughed, and my heart skipped a beat at the sound. "Can't promise anything for that dork, though."

I couldn't help but laugh, too, forgetting for an instant that she wasn't actually sitting by my side. But the implication caught up with me a second later, and my breath hitched. "Wait, are you...?" _She can't be. She wouldn't...would she? _I twisted around to face the center of the play island, eyes flitting desperately over the shack, the walkways, the path to the Secret Place...

"Love you, Grim."

The phone went silent, but over the crashing of the waves I could just barely hear the distinct sound of a dark corridor opening. Whipping my head around to find the source, I glimpsed a split-second of Meli's face, staring straight at me, before she was engulfed by the black and purple smoke.

Growling in frustration, I slammed a fist down onto the sand. _Seriously? What the heck, Meli? Why would you...? _I collapsed onto my back, throwing my arm across my eyes and drawing in deep, deliberate breaths through my nose to calm myself. _When did everything go wrong? What did I do that she doesn't trust me anymore? That she'd rather run to the darkness than to me? _I scrunched my face up against the pain that that thought caused.

If only we had more time...if only we weren't marching off to war the very next day. She and I needed time to figure all of this out, to work through whatever this was without Heartless and psychopaths getting in our way. But time was a commodity that we just didn't have right now. Mine and Meli's problems were just going to have to wait. _Once this is all over...I'll bring you back to me. Whatever it takes._

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**Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	29. Chapter 29

** Coolmegan123:** Thanks! Glad you liked it!

**Nevquariel: **Thank you for your understanding! You're right, taking a break from time to time definitely helps. Even breaks to write these oneshots, sometimes!

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TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER! Emotional abuse, mild child abuse, mentions of domestic violence, mentions of torture

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_So, this week has been a much better writing week for me, and as of today my husband is back at work, so my schedule should go back to mostly normal now, too. Of course, more of my writing sessions this week than usual were spent on this oneshot, but I have no regrets. I've been looking forward to writing this one for a while. _

_ When I first posted Inferno's Edge chapter 44, I mentioned that I had been imagining it in my head for a long time...well, I imagined this part for just as long. I really wanted to be able to include it in the main story, but it just didn't logistically work out because of perspectives. Then I considered starting the third book with this scene, because – here's your first new hint for what's to come – the perspective wouldn't have been an issue, but decided ultimately that it wasn't the best place to begin. So it worked out better as a oneshot. Anyway, I know there are some of you who have been looking for this one, too, so hope you enjoy reading it like I did writing it!_

_ This takes place right after Meli goes darkness-crazy and runs off after defeating Saix, and Riku and Mickey work together to distract her and put a sleep spell on her. In other words, it's the moments leading up to her waking up inside her heart._

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**Chapter 43.5**

(Falls between chapters 43 and 44)

_Riku's Perspective_

"You're sure this will work?"

Mickey sighed heavily. "It's the only chance we've got."

That wasn't the answer I was looking for, but it told me everything I needed to know. "Okay. Wish me luck, then." I pointed Braveheart at the spiked purple orb that was hovering over Meli's prone body.

He gave a nod and a sympathetic smile. "Good luck, Riku. I'll make sure she stays safe on this end."

A white glow began emitting from both my Keyblade and the orb, growing brighter and brighter, then suddenly vanishing and leaving me in total darkness. The sensation of falling hit my stomach forcefully, confirmed by the air rushing past my face although there were no landmarks to orient myself by. It was a familiar feeling, despite the strangeness of it. I had been through this process multiple times, first during the Mark of Mastery exam, then when diving into Sora's heart. That didn't mean it ever got any more pleasant.

The first thing to appear in my vision looked almost like a picture frame – a giant picture frame, that is, gold around the edges, with an image inside of several children. It was coming straight at me, so I angled my body to the right to miss it, still keeping my eyes focused on the picture. _Who are those kids? _One was a girl, with long auburn hair in a braid over her shoulder. Her arms were crossed, and she looked to be on the verge of tears. The others were all boys, hemming the girl in so that she had nowhere to run, and the expressions on their faces left no doubt in my mind that whatever they were saying to her wasn't nice in the least.

I was so engrossed in figuring out the image that I didn't see the next one until it was too late. I fell straight through the center of the frame, and suddenly my surroundings were replaced by a fuzzy vision of the inside of a house I had never seen before. An unfamiliar woman towered over me, and I could feel the ghost of her fingers pinching my ear tightly, nails digging into the cartilage.

"Stupid girl," she hissed. "What makes you think anyone would ever want you? You'd better get the idea of adoption out of your head right now, because you're too old, too ugly, and far too troublesome."

As quickly as the vision came, it was gone again, leaving me falling through the dark space with only a lingering feeling of shame and self-loathing in my gut. _Meli. _These were Meli's memories, they had to be. The next one was coming up on the left, and this time I purposely fell toward it. A moment later the same woman was yelling at me, calling me a whiny brat as the echo of a bruise throbbed on my cheekbone.

"How many times do I have to tell you? If you don't want the boys bothering you, stay away from them!"

"But they –" a voice that was not mine but came from my throat tried to protest.

"Don't talk back to me! And next time you get hit, suck it up and deal with it. I don't want to hear about it anymore." The door to the bedroom I stood in slammed shut, and a lock clicked into place.

I fell out of that memory and immediately headed for the next. I had a terrible feeling that things were only going to get worse the deeper I went, but there was a desperate need churning in my chest to see as much as I could, to try to finally find out for myself exactly what things made my girlfriend the way she was.

The next two memories featured Meli on the streets, and left behind most prominently a innate sense of loneliness and pangs of hunger, along with more shame from the scorn of passers-by and even fellow homeless. As soon as I saw the sixth frame coming, I clenched my jaw and prepared myself to be very, very angry, because I could recognize that tall figure with red hair even from a distance.

"Hey there," he purred, and above my own desire to gag at seeing what looked like Axel turning those flirty eyes on me, I felt surprise and a sheepish delight flow through my mind. "What's a pretty thing like you doing out here?" His lips turned up and he glanced over his shoulder at a nearby building. "C'mon, you hungry? Of course you are. I'll buy you lunch."

After that I could predict the flow of events quite easily, but that didn't make it any easier to stomach seeing it – or feeling it, at least to some extent. I was fortunate that the faint ache of bruises and even one broken bone didn't last longer than it took to fall into the next memory. Meli, I knew, hadn't been that lucky, and the thought made me sick. She had also had to feel the full force of the emotions that accompanied each verbal blow, while I only got a trickle.

"Shut up, I'm so sick of hearing your voice."

"You realize that you're nothing, right? If I hadn't picked you up and given you my hard-earned money and a place to live, you'd still be wasting away on the street."

"Look, I work hard all day, and all I want from you when I come over here is for you to kiss me, make me some food, and let me relax and maybe talk about my day. I don't need you yakking about how you feel. I don't care."

The last frame took me to a night I was pretty sure I knew, despite only having experienced the aftermath of it. I only saw a small portion of the incident with the broom handle now, but I still came out feeling like I should be covered in blood and injuries, and wishing once again that I could have been the one to deal with the monster. I didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts, though, because the next thing I knew, I was landing on some kind of platform, and the very person I wanted to take out my anger on was standing there waiting for me.

Aiden's lips curled into a snarl. "You. You're the one who took her from me."

"And you're the one who almost took her from me." My Keyblade was in my hand in a flash of light. "Let's go. I've been waiting a long time for this."

"You can't break the hold that I have over her. Meli is mine!" The last words came out in a roar as he transformed into a Heartless, fully black and even taller than before, with bright green orbs piercing out where his eyes should have been. His hands were flaming, and he immediately began shooting fireballs at me. I ducked under the first, then swung my Keyblade like a bat and hit the second one right back toward him. It didn't seem to do any damage, of course, only made him switch tactics to one solid stream of fire, instead.

Rolling underneath the flames, I threw ice with my left hand, then stood when his attack faltered and pummeled him with the edge of my weapon. He took several hits before getting one in on me. Leaping back, I shook out the arm he had grazed with a hiss, then shot Blizzaga again.

The next several minutes of battle continued much the same. I barely dodged most of his fiery attacks, occasionally coming a little too close to comfort, but was able to land most of my own. Toward the end he began to get desperate, adding in a new move where he shot streams of fire from both hands at once and spun in circles, and that one was hard to avoid. But I had no doubts that I would come out of this victorious. There was no other choice. Meli needed me, and Aiden needed to pay, even if it was only a memory of him.

At last he let out a screech, his entire body bursting into flames, and when the fire had dissipated only a flickering image of regular Aiden was left. He dropped onto his knees and looked up at me with a sneer. "She'll never be free from the darkness."

I dismissed my Keyblade. "Yes, she will. I'm going to make sure of it."

He vanished, and an instant later the floor beneath my feet gave way. Flipping myself over in the air, I looked for the next frame, bracing myself for what I might see. However, I certainly wasn't prepared for it to be me.

"Stop it!" I could feel my body running, felt the surge of magic just before Sorrow's Promise appeared in my hand. But my focus was straight ahead on my real self, in Ansem's form, watching with disinterest as the Guardian Heartless crushed Roxas in its fist. I wanted to look away. I didn't want to have to see this moment that up until now I hadn't been able to recall, but this was Meli's memory and I, unfortunately, couldn't alter it. As soon as I got close, ready to drive the Keyblade into the Heartless, Ansem's arm lashed out without even a glance in my direction, not only stopping me in my tracks but knocking me backwards into a seemingly never-ending tumble across the pavement.

I came out of the memory and back into a freefall. This time, the pain of betrayal in Meli's chest was outweighed by shame that was all my own. _We've moved past that. She forgave you, remember?_

To my simultaneous relief and dismay, the next memory was not of me. It was of Saix, instead, as were all the following ones. First came the moment she was actually kidnapped, pinned in the snow, then overtaken by Dusks in the In Between. That got my blood started boiling, but mainly because I knew some of what came next.

"This device has ten levels. That was Level One. Shall we continue, or did you have something you would like to say?"

I had gotten used to the milder version of pain I would feel in these memories well enough by then that I had a good idea of just how painful the real thing had been. Besides, having my body fall to the ground while a scream wrenched its way past my lips, and promptly emptying my stomach afterward was a pretty good indicator, too. By the time I fell again, I wanted to throw up for real.

"This is not where I left you. I told you to sit in the shed and not move, and I told you there would be consequences if you did not obey." Saix's face never lost its stoicism, and his voice never rose, but the harsh grip that pulled at the roots of my hair, forcing me to look at him as my organs burned inside of me, spoke of fury. Just as the sparking in my veins reached my face and I thought Meli surely would pass out, the memory dispersed.

My one thought as I fell toward the next was, _I sure hope that I get to fight him next._

Lucky for me, I did, though only after having to go through more memories of torture. The last one before the platform appeared took place right before we had finally freed her, when she had been forced to watch Saix fight Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Once I touched down onto solid ground, I wasted no time with introductions before charging straight for the Nobody, roaring out all of the pent-up remnants of rage, fear, and pain from both myself and Meli.

He was a much tougher opponent than Aiden had been. Even though there was no moon around, this was a memory, and apparently Meli remembered him having his full powers. Waves of blue light rippled across the floor, threatening to knock my feet out from under me. Leaping and rolling out of the way, I made my way to where Saix was hovering and met him in the air, trading blows back and forth before he finally was able to knock me back to the ground.

I was barely back on my feet when a claymore pierced the ground right where I had just been. Automatically I grabbed it, yanking it up and looking for the first opportunity to send it hurtling back toward him. I didn't miss. Saix hit the ground, too, and the blue lights vanished. This was my chance to really fight him, so I ran immediately back in. A few Thunder spells – which I couldn't resist casting to give him a taste of his own medicine – and many blocked and landed hits for both of us later, Saix fell.

"Her darkness is immense. It has taken over every corner of her heart. Do you really think you can bring her back now?"

I met his eyes evenly, breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight but refusing to let his glare or his words cow me now. "Yes. I do. Darkness may be strong, but the light and my love for her are stronger."

When he disappeared, I hoped that would be the end of it. But the platform broke underneath me once again, and there were more frames appearing in the distance. As soon as I saw the image in the first frame, I knew. _Of course. Aiden and Saix were just the beginning. _The next several memories spanned the last few months, starting with her very first panic attack. I finally got a glimpse of what it had all been like from Meli's perspective, how much she had wanted to be strong for once, and how it had felt like that was exactly what no one was letting her be. _Why didn't you talk to me? _I wanted to ask, but I couldn't, not with the voices from her past still echoing in my mind, telling me that I was whiny and worthless and that no one wanted to hear what I had to say. Not when I had just watched her make an attempt at opening up, telling me that she felt like she was dying and that she thought I'd understand, and I had done nothing in reply but berate her for her choices.

_I'm sorry, Meli. I understand now. _I just hoped I was going to get the chance to tell her for real, when all of this was over.

Another platform was approaching below me, but this one seemed different. It was bigger, for one, and there was no enemy waiting to fight me. Instead, I spotted a small figure curled up on the far edge, their face buried in their knees.

"Help! Please, someone help me!"

"Meli!"

Her head came up at my call, and I could see tears shining on her cheeks even from a distance as I got ready to land. My heart filled with determination and hope._ I won't let the darkness have you. We're gonna get out of here, together._

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	30. Chapter 30

** DyingofFeels: **Ha yeah, I guess it does kinda have a DLC feel to it, now that you point it out! I may end up finding a way to fit it into the next book before it's over with, we'll see.

**Coolmegan123:** Thank you! After writing it I wish even more that it could be in the next book, so don't be too surprised if you see it again ha. I haven't made up my mind yet.

**Nevquariel: **Thanks! I'm glad it lived up to your expectations! I had been looking forward to it, too.

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_Okay, so yes, I know I know, I skipped an extra week before I updated without warning you guys. I'm sorry. I had a really busy week last week and just didn't have time to write anything. Also, I only have 2 more requests to write after today, and still have a ways to go before I finish even the first draft of the book, so...it may happen again. Unless I get an influx of new requests, I may end up just updating the oneshots here and there, not necessarily on a strict every other week schedule. I like keeping a consistent schedule for you guys, but I'd rather be able to keep working on the main book if I happen to be on a roll with it and not have to worry about stopping for oneshots. Having said that, don't let it keep you from submitting new requests if you have them. I have a feeling we have plenty of time to kill in between now and the next book being ready. If nothing else, I can write oneshots after I finish the first draft, since I always take a break before starting on the second draft._

_ So, onto today's update. Now that I've finished the oneshots I had already planned, we are__ hopping all the way back to Sorrow's Promise for a request by **OmegaRet****con**. They wanted to see Riku's reaction to Meli going missing...him searching for her all over the place was also mentioned, but I didn't end up including much of that because of...reasons. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**Sorrow's Promise Chapter 40 ReMix**

(Runs parallel to chapter 40)

_Riku's perspective_

I was, admittedly, not in the best of moods after I left Meli in the mountains. I had tried everything I knew of, even admitting that my feelings for her had grown to the point that I couldn't deny it was love, but she still wasn't willing to forgive me yet. Despite all that, though, I had more pressing things to worry about, like the dragon Heartless that was headed toward the Imperial City, probably much faster than Sora and company would be able to travel without the dark corridors that I used.

Or so I thought. Just as I had finished warning the Emperor about the threat, I heard the unmistakable sound of a battle out in the hallway, complete with squawks from Donald and the occasional yell from Sora. After informing the Emperor that the problem would soon be taken care of, I moved out to the courtyard to watch the fight from the shadows. Sora was a big boy, I knew that. He had been handling himself just fine all this time without me. Didn't mean I was quite ready to give up my role as his protector just yet, not when there were giant Heartless about and I had been doing it since we were four and five years old.

The question was, why wasn't Meli with them? Even if she had wanted a few minutes alone after I had left, she still could have corridored her way down by then. It didn't seem like her to leave the boys to a fight like this on their own. Maybe she had decided to walk, though. Maybe she had actually listened to me for once and taken my advice about being careful with the darkness. I told myself there was nothing to worry about just yet, and focused on the wild battle happening in front of me, restraining myself more than once from jumping in without good cause. Meli had been right, it was reckless of me to get that close to Sora and let him figure out who I was, but I had been desperate to talk to her again. Ever since Port Royal she had been sticking much closer to her team, not giving me any chances to catch her alone.

Except for right now. Where was she? The battle was drawing to a close, and she still hadn't showed. Sora was noticing, too, resting his Keyblade on the ground and looking around as he panted for breath.

"I wonder what happened to Mel? Shouldn't she be here by now?"

Donald shrugged. "Who knows? She didn't even say why she was staying. I don't understand why she always has to be so mysterious about everything."

Sora's eyebrows pulled down as his mouth scrunched up, creasing his face into a look of concern that I had never liked seeing on him. "I hope nothing bad happened to her. Maybe we should head back up and see if we can find her."

I didn't wait to hear Donald's protests and groans about having to hike back up the mountain. They were starting at the bottom, so I was going to start at the top and work my way down. It only took an instant for me to arrive, and only slightly longer than that for my thoughts to start running away with all of the terrible things that could have happened. What if there was another avalanche and she got buried? What if she slipped on ice and fell off a cliff? What if she stopped moving for too long and got hypothermia? What if the Organization found her and...? I didn't even know how to finish that thought, or if I wanted to. As far as I knew, the Organization had no reason for wanting her dead or anywhere but with Sora fighting Heartless, but it seemed like they were always one step ahead with their plans.

The point was, I never should have left her alone on that mountain. It was far too dangerous, and I was an idiot to not make sure she got to the city safely before leaving her.

It didn't take long for me to pass the spot where she and I had talked. My head whipped back and forth as I traveled, trying to take in every single snowflake and rock face, and I paid little attention to my footing, slipping and sliding more than I actually walked. Several minutes past that area, I finally skidded to a stop when I almost fell into a large divot in the snow. A large, perfectly round divot. For a moment I just stared at it, trying to get it to make some kind of sense. It obviously wasn't made by anything natural. Glancing around, I spotted more just like it scattered about, always in sets of two. Like footprints. But what would have made footprints that big...except a Heartless or a Nobody.

My heart leapt into my throat. I had left her alone, and there were monsters roaming around that we hadn't accounted for. Why hadn't we accounted for them? They had just finished battling a whole hoard of small Heartless, and were chasing after a giant one, so why hadn't it crossed my mind that there could have been more lying in wait? And now Meli had...had...

I grabbed double fistfuls of my hair and pulled hard enough to smart. Breathe, Riku, breathe. She's not dead. She can't be. Why? a cynical voice inside my head asked. My eyes darted around the disturbed snow, trying to find the answer. Because...because there's no blood. It was a weak excuse, and I knew it. After two years of war, I had seen plenty of deaths that didn't involve blood. There was powerful enough magic out there that could disintegrate someone in the blink of an eye and leave no trace.

But she couldn't be dead. She just couldn't. If Meli was dead, I would...I would know. Somehow. At least that's what I was going to cling to, whether it made sense or not.

The question then remained...where was she? Already I could hear Sora and company's voices in the distance, calling out Meli's name over and over as they neared my position. Which meant that she wasn't anywhere on the main path, and it made no sense for her to have gone elsewhere on the mountain. But it made no sense for her to have simply left the world, either, leaving her team behind.

Where would she even have gone, if she had just taken off? Without fully realizing it I was already compiling a list of the first places I would check. Could I dare to hope that she had changed her mind about me, and had gone back to the mansion? Probably not, but I'd head there first, anyway. Destiny Islands, she always liked it there. Maybe she needed a breather.

First, though, there were more places in this world to check. I teleported back to the top of the mountain and started over again on the opposite side, ignoring my weary, aching body. If she wasn't anywhere to be found on the mountain, then I'd tear apart the Imperial City looking for her. I wasn't leaving this world until I was absolutely positive she was gone. I wasn't giving up until I made sure she was safe.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	31. Chapter 31

**OmegaRet****con:** I'm glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for understanding the changes to the schedule. Life is pretty busy right now, but if I go too long without writing I start getting restless, so I don't plan on quitting anytime soon!

**DyingofFeels: **Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

**Coolmegan123:** I thought of that, of mentioning more imprints in the snow from Meli and Saix, but decided to stick with the most obvious shape which would have been the Berserker's footprints. Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! I have a hard time not including little snippets about Riku and Sora's friendship just because I love it so much. And yeah, in my mind Riku is definitely the Mom Friend haha.

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_ Hey again everyone! I wasn't sure whether I was actually going to update this week or not, mostly because I've kinda been on a roll working on the main story lately. At least when I get the chance to work on it...we're trying to get our house ready to sell, so a lot of my time has been going to house projects. But I got to write two super whumpy chapters in a row, which is my jam, so I've finally had inspiration! Anyway, I took a break and threw this together yesterday afternoon, mostly so I could go ahead and make a little announcement..._

_ I have a Tumblr now! You can find me under the same username as usual, actress4Him. I partially started it so that I could eventually (after this series is done!) take part in some of the writing challenges on there, but the important part for you guys is that I'll also be using it to post updates on my writing. For instance, if you check out my very first post (remove the spaces, replace dotcom with the real thing) – _

actress4him. tumblr (dotcom)/ post/620195171692331008/actress4him-works-archive-of

_ – you'll find a sneak peek of a chapter I wrote this past week! So yeah, if you have a Tumblr, follow me to keep up with how it's coming, and let me know who you are so I can follow you if you want me to! I'd love to hear from you guys over there!_

_ Okay, onto today's chapter. This is a combination of 2 different requests from **Nevquariel**, and takes place at some undisclosed time before Inferno's Edge begins. Enjoy!_

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**Bonus ****Chapter 5**

(Falls between books 1 and 2)

_Meli's perspective_

"Okay, so what is it we're watching, again?"

"We haven't decided." Kairi plopped down onto the floor in front of the shelf of DVDs with a huff. "I think we should watch 'Always and Forever', but the boys are voting for 'Blazing Fury'." She pulled each of the cases off the shelf and waved them as she spoke.

I took in the dimmed lights of the basement, the cozy couch in front of the tv, and had a fantastically mischievous idea. "Oh, I definitely think I'm in the mood for something romantic."

Brightening, Kairi slid the second case back into place. "Perfect! We can watch their dumb shoot 'em up movie another night."

"Wait a minute," Sora whined, laying over the back of the couch. "That's a tie vote! That doesn't decide anything!"

"Yes, ha ha, you two don't get to outvote me on everything anymore. Girl power." She held up her hand for a high five, which I readily gave, before busying herself putting the disc into the player. "But anyway, Meli is the one we're doing this for, so she gets to decide."

I looked down my nose at Sora. "Yeah, I get to decide." He stuck out his tongue at me, and I laughed and rolled my eyes. "What are you, six? Besides, Grim doesn't know it yet, but he agrees with me on my choice."

"Huh?" Riku looked up from the mini fridge where he was pulling out sodas for everyone. "I do?"

"Yep. You do." I elbowed him as he handed me my drink, jerking my head toward the other two. "Romance is just what we need."

His eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh. Yeah, you're right. Good choice."

Sora groaned dramatically and half flipped, half fell over the back of the couch and onto the cushions. "Fine."

Kairi paused, remote in her hand, to stare and me and Riku with pursed lips. "You two are weird," she declared finally, and headed toward the adjacent armchair.

"No, no! Sit over here with us!" It came out a little too frantic, and Kairi gave me another strange look, but she listened and came back to the couch.

"Are you sure? It's gonna be kinda cramped..."

"It'll be fine. Grim can sit here..." I prodded Riku down into the corner next to the arm, then quickly sat down next to him and shoved Sora's head up off the seat toward the other arm. "And you can sit right here in between me and Sora!"

"And we have two bowls of popcorn, so we'll share one and you two can share the other," Riku put in, handing out said bowls.

"See? Perfect!"

Kairi shrugged and settled into place. "Alright, that's fine. I don't mind if you guys don't."

Riku and I both adamantly assured her of our happiness with the arrangement, but I noticed Sora didn't say anything. If we were lucky, he was already starting to freak out inwardly from Kairi's proximity.

The movie seemed to be a pretty typical Hallmark-type love story – boy meets girl, mutual pining, lots of flirting, the super hot ex-boyfriend shows up at some point to make things confusing for the girl. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I had not been so focused on the love story I was trying to make happen next to me. It took Kairi a while before she actually started reaching into the bowl for pinches of popcorn, and even then she seemed to purposefully be avoiding doing so at the same time as Sora.

At some point, maybe halfway into the movie, I noticed that while Kairi's leg was pressed up against mine, there was a couple of inches of space in between her and Sora. I leaned over and whispered in Riku's ear. "We need an excuse to scoot over."

He glanced over, saw what I was seeing, then seemed to asess his own position before starting to squirm a bit. "You okay, babe?" I asked aloud.

"Uh, yeah...just a little crushed against the side of the couch, that's all."

"Hey, you guys have any more room to spare over there?"

"Oh." Kairi looked down at the gap only briefly before moving over to fill it. "Yeah, sure." I quickly followed her so that she couldn't come back.

"Thanks." Riku readjusted himself, and he and I shared a smirk covered by the near-darkness.

The movie continued on, and I found myself actually paying a little more attention, wondering which guy the girl would choose even though the answer was obvious. My focus was split again, however, when Sora bent forward and placed their now-empty popcorn bowl on the floor, then sat back up, stretched his arms over his head, and let his right arm drape over the back of the couch behind Kairi's head. I could nearly hear her heart speed up from the way she tensed, and couldn't help the grin that broke out on my face. I had to turn and bury my mouth into Riku's shoulder to keep from bursting into giggles.

"You okay?" Kairi whispered.

"Yeah, yeah...sorry." I forced the corners of my mouth down and glanced up at the screen. "Kissing in the rain scenes always get to me."

She sighed dreamily. "I know. Me, too."

_Take notes, Sora. You need to kiss this girl in the rain at some point._ I'd be thrilled if we could even get them to hug without threatening to spontaneously combust, honestly.

As soon as the movie was done, I pushed myself up off the couch. "That was nice, I enjoyed it. Grim was saying that he had to leave right after the movie was over, so I'm just gonna, you know, walk him out and say goodbye. I'll see you upstairs, Kai...whenever you're done. Down here. Take your time." Grabbing Riku's hand, I practically yanked him up and toward the stairs.

"Smooth," Riku snickered when we were out of earshot.

"Shut up."

When I heard Kairi's footsteps on the stairs a while later, I opened the door to my room and smiled at her. "Did you enjoy the evening?"

She smiled back. "Yeah, I did. Did you?"

"Mm-hm. Did you and Sora have anything interesting to, uh, talk about after we left?"

Pressing her lips together, she shrugged. "Not really. Just talked about some homework assignments and stuff."

I barely kept myself from groaning and facepalming. "Yeah, okay. I'm gonna go to bed, I'll see you tomorrow."

_Those two. _I leaned against the door after I had shut it, rolling my eyes. Boy met girl, and they definitely had the mutual pining down. Try as I might, though, I couldn't seem to get them to enter the flirting stage, much less anything after it. Too bad Kairi didn't have a super hot ex-boyfriend to come along and finally make them realize how they felt about each other.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


	32. Chapter 32

**DyingofFeels: **Haha yep, that's exactly the scene I had in mind when I wrote that "spontaneously combusting" part. And yeah, guys, they're gonna share a paopu – without your help – before the next book is over. Just chill.

**Coolmegan123: **Girl, I'm pretty sure you're a lot younger than me. Aren't you in college? Isn't that how old most people on Tumblr are? Or maybe I just think that because I'm old lol. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the sneak peek I posted! Also thanks so much for leaving a review on my daughter's story. She got one other one besides that and loved it when I read them to her.

**Nevquariel: **Yay, I'm glad you liked it! I figured you probably were hoping for a movie from Meli's universe, but since she hasn't really had a chance to get any of those I had to compromise. I kinda do want to write another one where they watch one of her movies at some point, though.

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_ Heyyy I actually wrote a oneshot for you guys this week! But, bad news, this is THE very last one that I have to do. Sooo, unless I get another request in, from now on you're gonna have to keep up with how things are coming on Tumblr. Same username, actress4Him, and I'm tagging everything I post about the upcoming story with "daughter of darkness fic", so that should make it super easy to find just those posts (I mean, if you don't want to see all the other brilliant stuff that I post). Just type that into the search bar on my page! And if you're a Tumblr user yourself, you can follow that tag. So far I've posted a sneak peek of a couple of paragraphs of story, and another little update about what I was writing at the time. Eventually, I also plan on doing a title reveal, maybe a cover art sneak peek, and asking for some input on a playlist I'm putting together for the series, plus more little updates here and there. So come on over and say hello!_

_EDITED TO ADD: If you haven't yet, check out "A 6-Year-Old's KH Story"! It was dictated to me by my daughter, and is pretty entertaining if I do say so myself. I know she'd love another review or two._

_ Okay, so for today's chapter we have Lea's perspective of his and Meli's interactions in Yen Sid's tower, right after the boys' test ended and his Keyblade was revealed. And, you know, he tried flirting with her and she threatened his life. Fun times. Requested by **Nevquariel**!_

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**Inferno's Edge Chapter 24 Remix**

(Runs parallel to chapter 24)

_Lea's perspective_

_I always thought you were pretty cute, just throwing that out there? Really, Lea? _ Man, I was out of practice. I mean, the fact that she already had a boyfriend and hated my guts didn't help matters. But how was I supposed to know they were dating? It's not like they had kissed in my presence or anything. Well, there was the whole watching-over-his-unconscious-body thing, but that could definitely be interpreted as just friends, right? _Let's face it, I haven't had a heart for ten years. Interpreting other people's emotions is probably gonna be a little iffy for a while._

The old man was droning on about how I needed to go train in Radiant Garden – like, yay, I was so looking forward to going back to the world full of unwanted memories of my former life – but I couldn't help but notice Meli slipping away from her boyfriend and out the door. Automatically I wanted to follow her. Just, you know, to make sure there was no confusion between us. Attempting to flirt with her was obviously not the solution to fixing whatever issue she was determined to have with me, but maybe I could still smooth things over. I nodded along to the old man's speech absentmindedly until I was sure he was about done, then excused myself.

I decided if I were her, I would be getting some fresh air – seeing as how I kinda needed some myself at the moment – and found her pretty quickly sitting on a little balcony down the hall. "Knock knock," I called, sticking my head out. "Mind if I join you?"

She groaned and turned away from me. "You don't take hints very well, do you?"

"What, that you don't like me very much? No, I got that." I had a feeling an invitation wasn't gonna be coming, so I made myself at home anyway, leaning onto the railing to look out over the sea. "That's why I came out here, in fact. I think I, uh...started off on the wrong foot, so I thought I'd give a try at starting over."

"Why are you obsessing over being on good terms with me, in particular? You're not acting like this with anyone else. Still because I'm 'cute'?"

My cheeks heated a bit, and I turned quickly to find her glaring at me. "No, I just..." _Why am I acting like this? _"I can't say that I enjoy being hated by anyone. Call me sensitive, that's what having a heart will do to you, I guess. But the rest of them don't seem to hate me as much as you do, despite who I was in the past. Is that just because of somebody I look like?"

"You kidnapped my sister."

_Kidnapped? _There was only one person I had ever kidnapped, so there was no question of who, but... "Your sist–?" Releasing the breath that I had sucked in at her accusation, I dropped my head down onto my arms. "Of course she's your sister. The identical faces should have clued me in, I guess." _Way to go, Axel. Way to ruin a potential friendship before it even had a chance to start. _I wasn't gonna even let myself start thinking about having to meet Kairi at some point in the near future.

"Listen, all I really came out here to say was, sorry for, um...whatever I was attempting in there. And, you know, thanks for jumping in to take care of Saix earlier. Not that I couldn't handle him myself, but it was still, you know, cool of you. And it was a pretty impressive fight, too. I mean, he wasn't in berserk mode or anything, but...have you seen his berserk mode? It's ridiculous. If it wasn't so freakin' scary I'd definitely make fun of him for it."

"Please shut up," I barely heard her mumble.

"Yeah, sorry, I got a little off topic there –" _and you're clearly still not my biggest fan_ –"but I'm just saying, it was pretty impressive. Not many people can take on Saix like that."

"Shut up!"

She had gone from a mumble to a pained scream, and I whipped around to face her. She hadn't moved from her spot on the floor, but she was doubled over, her face nearly in her lap, hands clasped over her ears and tears shining on her cheeks. _What the...? I didn't think my rambling was that bad. _

"Why? Why is he alive?" I could hardly understand the words that were grinding their way out of her throat. "I wasn't ever supposed to have to see him again. I watched him die, so why...is he not dead?"

_The heck is she talking about? Or talking to, even?_ I had a distinct feeling it wasn't me. Who did she want dead? I didn't think she hated me quite that much, but wouldn't have necessarily put it past her after her little speech in the study , she was now rocking erratically and gasping like a fish out of water, so I kinda figured it was time to pass this whole freak out situation off to a professional.

"I'm just gonna...um...go get Riku." I exited the balcony as quickly as possible, not even bothering to close the door behind me, and jogged back down the hall to the old man's study. Peeking my head inside, I saw that not much had changed in my absence. Riku, thankfully, was right there in front of me, and looked my way when I appeared.

"Hey, uh...I think I..." I had no idea what I had done, or even if it was actually my fault, so how in the world did I explain this? "...broke your girlfriend."

His eyes widened. "What?" Before I could even explain, he was moving, pushing past me into the hallway.

"That way." I motioned toward the still-open balcony door. "I don't know what happened, we were just talking and then she..." He wasn't listening to me. He was already gone, having run at full speed to his girlfriend's rescue. "Yeah. Okay. I have no idea what is happening here, but don't mind me."

Creeping toward the door, I leaned in just close enough to be able to catch a glimpse of the two of them. Riku was sitting on the floor right in front of Meli. It almost seemed like he was coaching her through some kind of breathing technique, which she seemed to be struggling to follow. The door had been pushed mostly shut, but every once in a while I could hear a low murmur of voices, Meli's sounding teary and choked up and like she might have been apologizing, and Riku's ever calm and patient. Eventually I backed away. I felt bad for her, even though I still had no idea what her problem was, but they were kinda sweet together. I could definitely see it now, that the two of them worked.

It took a long time for either of them to emerge again. I went back to the office, assured Sora and Kairi that Meli was fine – as far as I knew – and hung around for a little bit semi-participating in conversation before I eventually slipped out again, wondering if everything actually was okay. This time I could see them from a bit further away, since they had moved to a different part of the balcony to sit, and Meli seemed to have calmed down. She was at least talking in what looked like a normal way, no tears or anything. Satisfied, I was turning to leave when the door opened.

"Hey!" Riku was rushing toward me before I knew what was happening, a look of fury on his face. "You!"

Startled, I ran backwards a few steps, but he was right up in my face an instant later, laying an arm across my chest and slamming my back up against the wall. The dude was like a foot shorter than me, and I could have fought him off easily, but he was clearly already mad at me – probably on his girlfriend's behalf – and I wasn't looking to make enemies of any of these people.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing! We were just talking, I swear!"

"About what?"

_Good question. What were we talking about? _"I just told her thank you for earlier, you know, for taking on Sa–"

"Shut up!" He pressed me even further into the wall until I was sure I would have the imprint of his arm across my ribs. Apparently I had hit the nail on the head somewhere in there, but I was still clueless as to what the nail even was.

His free hand came up to point at my face. "If you ever say that name in her presence again, I swear that I will fold you five ways and feed you to a Darkside. Are we clear?"

"Grim." I glanced up to see Meli standing there with her hands gripping her elbows, watching the whole exchange. She still looked like a mess, honestly. Looked like she needed a good nap and maybe something stiff to drink, the latter of which I was starting to feel, myself. _How many times am I gonna get threatened by short people today? And...Saix? That's what this is about? What the heck...?_

Riku appeared to have been properly chastised by just that one word from her – _somebody is whipped – _but that didn't stop him from giving me one last dirty look and shove before he finally let me go and returned to her side.

I didn't bother to stick around after that. In the hall, or at the tower at all. It had been one long, crazy, hectic, freakin' weird day, and I had had quite enough of all of these Keyblade wielders and their issues for a while. Holing up in Radiant Garden by myself to do some training was honestly sounding better and better.

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** Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive! **


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